The Dragon Academy And The Goblet Of Fire EDITING IN PROGRESS
by FlyingHamburgerRider
Summary: The Dragon Academy have been taken to Hogwarts to train the dragons for the tasks. Little did they know that something more sinister awaited them. First Story, I Hope You All Enjoy! Takes place after HTTYD 1. I do not own Harry Potter or HTTYD. Chapters 1 - 5 edited.
1. Prologue

Prologue

"C'mon guys." I moaned loudly as I turned to face the twins. Four pairs of eyes stared devilishly out towards the village, already set on their next target. It was a brown boar, dotted with green markings to separate it from the vikings. It was just a simple game to keep their skills up, but the twins didn't really do simple.

"We've already lost Lorg's Bakery, Rosta's boat and Hulga's house. Mum would kill me if you guys destroy anything else."

"It's just a game, Hiccup." Ruffnut laughed. "Just relax."

"A game that repeatedly destroys the village?" I asked. "Get off the dragon."

"Hmph."

The twins didn't look happy about it, but they got off Barf and Belch, leading him towards his stall. I turned back to my work on the planning the next training session. See, I was going to bring in some - crack.

I turned around.

The twins lay sprawled on the floor, a trail of blood leaking from underneath Ruffnut's head, staining the stone red.

A man leered above them, two pale hand sticking out of vibrant robes coloured in bright reds and golds.

Who was this man?


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

 **Please Read and Review!**

 **~FlyingHamburgerRider**

 **Disclaimer~I do not own anything aside from the plot. All characters belong to Cressinda Cowell, Dreamworks Animations and J.K Rowling**

 **Chapter 1**

"My name is Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore." The man held out his free hand in greeting, but I ignored it, keeping my eyes trained on Barf and Belch. The stick didn't look that intimidating, but I knew better than to drop my guard around someone who could pop up out of nowhere.

"What do you want?" My voice wavered, my throat constricting in fear. It had been a while since I had felt this sensation. Everything had been so peaceful on Berk. I guess this man's sudden arrival was just karma for thinking that life would go back to normal.

"Your Hiccup I presume? Hiccup Horrendous Haddock The Third?" He glanced down at my thin frame.

"Yep. That'd be me." I was really starting to wonder where this was going.

"You, and your friends are coming with me to Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?" Tuffnut laughed. "As in a pig - with warts."

"Hogwarts is top secret witchcraft and wizardry school, in a top secret location, and you will be coming if you want this dragon to live." Albus said it loftily, as if a death threat were just something casual. The twins were laughing loudly at his claim, but I was silent. He had said it in such an aloof way. It sounded completely bonkers, but part of me felt compelled into believing him.

"Um, mister. That thing you have pointed at our dragon's neck-" Ruffnut said.

"That's a stick. As in a stick. From a tree." Tuffnut jumped in in twin's gag, taking delight in the supposed idiocy of Albus.

"Well then." Albus' voice was soft, but the sound still sent waves of fear down my spine. He was so much like Viggo. A cold, calculated mind. "If this is just a stick, nothing should happen if I was to do-" Albus jutted the stick into Barf's throat, looking not in the least fazed as crimson sparks flew out from the tip of the wand. "-this."

The twins cried out. " What have you done?!" Tuffnut shouted.

"Gather your friends, pack your bags, you may take your dragons as well. And that is how you will get your dragon back." The twins looked over at me for permission. I nodded. We had no choice.

They ran quickly out the entrance to gather the others and their belongings. I glanced at Barf and Belch, motionless on the floor. There was no getting out of it now. I made to trudge them when Albus' harsh voice stopped me.

"Hiccup, you are their leader, I know this much, but how I know this is my information." He looked me over with cold eyes. "You are too young to wield much respect at Hogwarts. Bring one adult with you on your return. And Hiccup, do not think of treachery or betrayal, I have powers beyond your belief and time."

I didn't doubt him for a second.

oOo

I dropped to the ground and caught my breath. I had ran all the way back to this clearing, hoping the place where my life had truly started would help me. My mind was racing over what had just happened. I had been pondering over it for a few minutes when I heard footsteps coming from the trees that surrounded the clearing. It didn't take long to figure out who it was.

"Astrid." I called. Astrid crept out from the trees and sat beside me.

"Is it true?" she said.

I nodded. Astrid lowered her head onto my shoulder.

"Oh Hiccup. So soon after Drago..."

"I know." I felt her hand slide into mine. I let it be. A smile twitched at my lips but I straightened my face quickly.

I had a feeling this trip with Albus would not turn out that well.

oOo

A pile of satchels stood in the shadows of the arena. Before there had been barrels of food as well, but Albus had simply waved them away with his stick, saying that all the food would be catered for at Hogwarts.

Hogwarts. I still couldn't get the idea into my head. We were leaving Berk. Nobody knew when we would be coming back. My father hadn't been able to come with us due to his dedication to the village as chief.

Luckily, Gobber was available. The blacksmith and dragon dentist jobs were not that demanding at the moment. The big Viking put his good hand on my shoulder. My knees buckled under the weight of his hand. I smiled at Gobber but my face fell as quickly as it had risen. Sighing, I slowly stroked my hand across Toothless' smooth scales. I couldn't spot Albus anywhere.

Crack. I knew who it was before I looked up. He had arrived.

"Good Day!" Albus called. He was greeted with silence.

"Good Day." he tried again with less enthusiasm, but we stayed stubbornly silent.

Albus stepped towards me with grave steps. I felt Toothless growl, his body vibrating beneath my hand. "It's okay, bud." I lied to Toothless. Slowly the dragon stepped back, still eyeing Albus with a hard green stare.

"Well?" I asked.

"We're leaving." Albus replied. He waved his stick and a tattered boot appeared.

"Everyone, touch the boot." I didn't know what he meant by that, but I could only assume we were supposed to touch the tattered boot. Cautiously I reached out and touched it. Nothing happened. I realised I had been holding my breath. I breathed back out quickly and retrained my eyes on Albus.

"Dragon Riders!" He called "One hand on the boot, the other on your dragon." "3..." Albus called. "2... 1.." and this was the last thing we heard before we were sucked into a white vortex...


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 **I do not own any of the characters, they belong to Dreamworks, Cressida Cowell and J.K Rowling. I only own the plot.**

When I opened my eyes I could see nothing but black. I could feel a crushing weight on my chest, making me gasp loudly as I struggled to breathe.

"Toothless," I moaned, "Gedd of' me." But there was no reply from the large dragon. Slowly I struggled out from underneath Toothless's belly. Looking around, I suddenly realised that apart from Albus, I alone was awake.

"Why is everyone asleep?" Albus chuckled darkly from where he sat, perched comfortably on a velvet chair.

"You will call me Dumbledore now. And as to why you are not asleep? Simply because you, out of everyone, did not let go of your dragon." I eyed Albus/Dumbledore with a questioning look.

Dumbledore sighed before continuing. "People of non-magic blood usually fall into a temporary coma when they first use a Portkey. The shock turns off your brain and makes you fall asleep." I was guessing that the boot was a Portkey. "Since you did not let go of your dragon he absorbed most of the shock." I nodded, I could understand that much.

"So anyway, what exactly do you want from us?"

"All of that will be revealed as soon as your friends wake up." Dumbledore puffed contently on the end of his pipe. I scowled. He just couldn't make this day any easier, could he?

"This way!" boomed Dumbledore. We had been trudging through the forest for what seemed like hours, and Dumbledore still hadn't explained where we were going.

"Just around this bend!" Dumbledore relayed to the group. Faintly, I heard Fishlegs sigh. He wasn't much of a fan of walking, and since Dumbledore had made us leave the dragons behind Fishlegs was panting like a dog.

We rounded the corner only to see a multitude of iron cages, but before I could make out what was in them the whole clearing was engulfed in flames. We backed away from the fire as three figures emerged from the smoke. The first, apparently the leader, held out a brawny hand covered with scars. I went to shake it, only to realise it was meant for Gobber.

"Charlie Weasley, at your service." Said the man.

"Well, I'm Gobber. And this..." He swept his hand around, indicating the Dragon Riders behind him, "Is the Dragon Academy."

The was silence for a moment, and then we heard the sound of the three men laughing loudly into the back of their palms.

"Well, excuse us for laughing, but we were expecting them to be a tad older. You see them, they're not even old enough to be out of Hogs-warts." Defended one with jet black hair.

"I couldn't agree with you more Parcibus." chuckled the third man.

"Oh please," interrupted Charlie. "They're obviously just here to assist Gobber!" He swerved round to face Dumbledore. "That's right, isn't it?" Dumbledore shook his head.

"I'm afraid you've got it all wrong, Mr. Weasley. Gobber, is the one here to assist. And Hiccup is their leader." As he said the last part he gestured to me. Slowly, the three men looked down to face me.

"But of course Gobber will make most decisions." Dumbledore hurried to reassure them. But by the look on their faces I could tell they weren't very convinced.

"Anyway," Said Dumbledore. "Would you, Mr. Weasly be so kind as to introduce the Dragon Academy to the dragon keepers?"

Nodding, Charlie turned to the man with the black hair. "This is Scorch, Parcibus Scorch." He then gestured to the other one."And this is Mackenzie, Filip MacKenzie."

"Now Charlie," Dumbledore whispered. "Why don't you tell our, our guests, why they're here?"

Charlie nodded and turned back towards the clearing, gesturing for us to follow.

As I fell in line behind Charlie, I couldn't help but notice his hair. Apparently Snotlout had too.

"Check out that dude's hair!" Snotlout blurted.

I groaned at Snotlout's outburst, praying that Charlie hadn't heard. But I had to admit the unruly flop of red hair did sort of resemble a out of control fire. Then I noticed what was in the cages - dragons. Dragons that were all tied, muzzled and locked away in barbed iron cages.

But all the precautions still couldn't stop the Monstrous Nightmare as it let out another burst of fire, the muzzle that had bound its mouth breaking into two severed pieces of rope.

"Oy!" Charlie yelled to Parcibus. "Restrain the beast." Spines flicked from an elderly Deadly Nadder and dug into the ground by my feet. I saw Filip running towards the Nadder with his wand, (I knew by now what they were called) shouting out a foreign word as he did so. Purple sparks flew from the end of the wand and collided with the Deadly Nadder. The Nadder's eyes slowly rolled back into its head and it sunk to the ground, similair to when Dumbledore had knocked out Barf and Belch. I heard Astrid cry out beside me. I put a hand on her shoulder trying to calm her, but in fact I needed calming as well. This brought back too many horrible memories.

I turned to Gobber. 'Let's go,' I mouthed.

Gobber nodded. "I think it's time for us to sleep. Do you have a place we could stay?"

"Of course. You will need time to adjust to our different time zone. Follow me."


	4. Chapter 3

**I do not own any of the characters, they belong to Dreamworks, Cressida Cowell and J.K Rowling. I only own the plot.**

 **Hiccup's POV**

"Dragon Riders, this is Harry Potter, Harry, these are the Dragon Riders" Dumbledore gestured to the black haired boy who had met us at the doors. We had just come back from the forest and they we were all a bit miffed by Dumbledore's insistence that the dragons were to be kept in the forest until further notice.

"Harry will take you to your quarters." Said Dumbledore.

"Fourth Floor Gryffindor Male Tower. Gobber will be coming with me." He told Harry. Then he waved his wand and he and Gobber disappeared in a puff of smoke. My jaw dropped to the floor. Harry was a wizard too, could he do that? Harry must've noticed I was watching him for he turned and started walking. Realising we weren't following he looked over his shoulder.

"This way!" He called. Uncertainly we followed him. On the way he pointed out different components of the castle. The others looked uninterested, but Fishlegs and I were sucking up all the information eagerly.

"That's statue of the one-eyed, hunch-back witch." He pointed to a statue of the one-eyed, hunch-back witch.

"Point a wand at it and say _Dissendium_ and a trapdoor to the sweet shop at Hogsmeade opens!" I was at loss for what Hogsmeade and sweet shop were, but I still stored the little tit-bit of information at the back of my head for future reference. Harry led us up more stairways and down corridors.

"And here we are!" Harry beamed. I looked around for a door or a tunnel but saw nothing but a portrait of a fat lady.

"Password?" said a voice.

"It spoke!" Fishlegs whispered, pointing a shaking hand at the painting. I turned to Harry, ready for him to prove Fishlegs wrong, only to see him having an loud conversation with the painting.

He must've sensed my shock and quickly muttered "emLupis Magentis." I watched, horrified, as the painting slowly swung aside to show a tunnel.

Through the tunnel was a large hall, big enough to hold host to the entire village, grand enough for us to purely relax. We sat on chairs, but they weren't made of wood like the ones at home, they were soo comfortable! Harry called them 'Couches'. I also kind of felt bad that Toothless wasn't here to enjoy this, but as I toasted my hands at the huge fire I decided to leave for a bit.

"So, gang. What do you think?" I asked the Vikings across from me, obviously enjoying it every bit as much as I was.

"Oh Hiccup!" gasped Astrid "I feel like I'm in Valhalla's hall of kings!" I nodded at this. It grasped exactly as I felt, but I knew we had to retire to our beds soon, we were alone on the majestic hall.

"Fine..."

We made our way up to our room, following the instructions Harry had given us earlier. We collapsed down onto our beds, falling asleep immediately as we were enveloped by the soft folds of the doona.

When I woke I couldn't see anything. Only black. But slowly, ever so slowly, two big eyes, full of mischief opened. Then what I felt was a bit short of disgusting. A great, huge tongue planted dragon slobber all over me.

"Toothless! You know this doesn't wash out!" I grumbled to my best friend. But soon I was up and ready for the new day (new clothes as well) I looked around at the five other beds (Ruff and Tuff had the only bunk-bed) and all were empty apart from the one at the far end - where Snotlout was comfortably snoring away. I also noticed that all the dragons were still in the room, a sign stuck my door told me why.

' _Dear Dragon Riders, The students of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft And Wizardry do not know about the Triwizard Tournament yet and the first (and second) tasks are yet to be completed, so the students will not be knowing about the dragons. Upmost security precautions must be taken. For now dragons will stay in the room. You may take them with you into the Forbidden Forest, but nowhere else. Please write what your dragon's diet consists of so we may cater for them. Any other needs please write below._

 _We have reserved a spot for you at the Gryffindor table and you will sit there for meal times._

 _Yours Truly, Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore'_

"So bud, any ideas?" A grumble came from Toothless. A grumble I knew well. '100 FRESH FISH (NO EELS)' I scrawled under Fishleg's neat '20 medium sized boulders (Normal Rock)

"Anything else, bud?" I asked the dragon. Toothless itched his head with his wing. "I know bud, I'm not sure either. I'll get you a fireproof bed, okay? I just got this bed and I'm not having you ruin it." I scrawled down my extra order before heading down the winding staircase. When I arrived down I found a red-headed boy who reminded me of Charlie. He was sitting on a couch reading a book. But when he noticed me he stood and offered me a hand.

"Ron Weasly, at your service." I shook it before I realised his surname was Weasly. Like Charlie's. I felt intrigued so I asked about my thoughts.

"Do you by any chance know Charlie Weasly?" Ron gave out a snort of laughter.

"Know him? He's my brother."

"Okay." I replied. I was about to pester him a little more when Snotlout came stumbling down the stairs.

"Breakfast?" he asked Ron.

"I was meant to take you down!" Ron started towards the tunnel before remembering us. "Come on! This way!" he called as he led us through the tunnel.

Ron led us to to a giant room that could easily fit 10 great halls inside. Four grand tables were spread across the floor. A fifth stood pride of place on a raised platform. All five tables were covered in delicious food. I didn't know what half of the stuff was but it smelt amazing. I spotted Astrid, Fishlegs and the twins at the end of the far table. Gobber sat at the high table along side Dumbledore. I hurried towards the others, my metal foot causing a bit of a noise. When people started staring I slowed down a bit.

When I got the table, Snotlout was already snuffling down poached eggs, having had no metal foot to slow him down. I sat myself down next to Astrid and started to pour myself a cup of water when Astrid stopped me and gestured to a jug of yellowy liquid.

"Trust me Hiccup, it tastes amazing!" she informed me. I poured myself a glass and took a sip, taking it slowly. It wouldn't be a good idea to take a piss coloured drink down in one gulp. I had to admit it tasted pretty good.

After we had breakfast Dumbledore stepped up the top of the platform where an eagle lectern awaited him. His voice echoed around the hall, drowning out all other conversations with his loud, sickly sweet tone.

"Just a few reminders before the day begins. Mr Filch has asked me to remind you the list of forbidden objects inside the castle has extended to include Screaming Yo-Yos, Fanged Frisbees and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises of four-hundred and thirty-seven items. This can be viewed in Mr Filch's office." A few snorts from the tables made it clear nobody would be paying a visit to Mr Filch's office.

"The Forbidden Forest is, as always forbidden to all _students_. Hogsmeade will only be visited by third years and up from there." Dumbledore continued. "Also the Quidditch Cup will not be taking place this year." I had no idea what Quidditch was but I could tell from the distraught looks on some of the students faces that it was fun.

"And in its place will be the Triwizard Tournament!"

Two identical boys with the same startling red hair as Ron and Charlie yelled out.

"You've got to be joking!"

Dumbledore leered down at the twins, watching as they sunk down into their seats before resuming his speech.

"The Triwizard Tourtament was established some seven hundred years ago, as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools - Durmstrang, Beauzbatons and Hogwarts! A champion was selected to represent each school in three magical tasks. Every five years a school would be chosen to host the Tournament, that is until it was abandoned due to a heavy death toll." Many faces (including Ron's and Fishlegs') went white.

"Death toll?" Ron whispered.

Dumbledore must've not noticed the number of pale faces and beamed. "But the Triwizard Tournament will once more be held thanks to the Ministry, who have put some safety rules to protect all competitors. And I am pleased to announce that the Triwizard Tournament is to be held here at Hogwarts!" Cheers came from the crowd but quickly became negative when Dumbledore yelled over the top of the crowd.

"But all competitors have to be of age to compete..."

There was more to his speech, but I had hardly slept for my worry for Toothless, so I slowly closed my eyes and...

"Hiccup!" Astrid whispered in my ear. "Wake up!" Groggily I lifted my head off the table. Hogwarts students were filing out the doors, supposedly to classes.

"Hiccup, we have go to the dragons now!" Fishlegs reminded me.

"Oh yeah." I replied. Part of me was a bit excited. The dragons did look drastically different to those back on Berk, so this will provide me with a perfect opportunity to study them. But I would have to ask the keepers to stay away.

 **Edited and reposted: 18/10/17.**

 **~FlyingHamburgerRider**


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The wind rushed through my features, my unkempt hair rushing out behind me. It was so good to be up in the air again! Toothless rolled over onto his back and looped up into the sky, nearly throwing me off as he came down in a curving spiral. As he leveled out I examined my map of the Forbidden Forest that Dumbledore had given me. The Forbidden Forest didn't look as dark or looming in the slightest from up in the clouds, but then again there was a lot of mist between me and the ground. I nudged Toothless down into an empty clearing, not wanting to cause a disturbance with the Dragon Keeper's cap. I slid off Toothless' back and started out of the clearing. Not feeling the familiar brush of scales on my leg, I turned back around to where my lazy dragon was lying as he doodled in the dirt with a single claw.

"You scared, baby-boo?" I asked Toothless. Toothless rolled his eyes and turned his head away from me. I laughed and continued onto the clearing, confident that Toothless would follow later on.

I first tried my luck with the Nadder. I fast noticed that the dragons here were not like the ones on Berk. They were from the same general family but small differences set them apart. The Zippleback had one head and was referred to as the Welsh Green, named for the trait that made them only breed in the colours of black and green. There was an adolescent Tyfoomerang, which according to the Keepers was actually an adult. That was a relief, it would be a nice break having a Typhoomerang with a smaller frame. It's other features were also degraded. It's wingspan was a mere 3 metres, it's fire power more like a Gronckle's (they had no Gronckles, reason unknown) than anything else. The Tyfoomerang was referred to as the Chinese Fireball. The Nadder before me showed me that they were basically the same but their snouts were shorter, hence the name it was known by the Wizards: Swedish Short Snout. And, the prize of the collection the Monstrous Nightmare. But this was no ordinary Monstrous Nightmare, it was a Titan. A giant Titan at that. It was known as the Hungarian Horntail. The Nightmare's tail was spiked, but unlike a Nadder's it could not shoot the spikes, which came as a huge relief. The Horntail did not need more firepower.

The Nadder was lathered in scars, all light from its eyes gone, escape a mere fantasy to the captive Nadder. It was monstrous how they were treating the dragons, not unlike how us Hooligans used to. I had been feeding the Nadder fish for the last few minutes, smiling slightly as the Nadder gobbled them greedily, bringing back memories of when I had first met Toothless.

"Hey, Parcibus! What's the Nadder - Wait, No. Short Snout's name?" I called.

"Ain't have one," He replied, turning back to the fire. 'No name' I murmured to myself. But the dragon needed a name, so I would just have to give it one."

"What about Bantam?" I asked the Nadder, before realizing it was a girl. I hadn't been able to tell before since the Nadder was so non-aggressive. (Female Nadder's are usually more aggressive) I thought a bit before an idea popped up in my head.

"Alma." It meant beautiful in Old Tongue. The old Nadder bowed her head on my direction sensing a friend. The lean Nadder had purple stripes running down the length of her spine, and spots highlighting her eyes. It was the first time I had seen a Nadder so beautiful as this.

The Nadder, once you got to know it was very kind and compassionate. I was planning to take Alma out for a bit of a test drive when Toothless padded into the clearing. I started to wave to the dragon, but my greeting was cut short as I felt the hair rush out of me as a body knocked me to the ground.

"Black Death! Take Cover!" Charlie shouted. I looked around for the sign of an attack but could see nothing. Only - Toothless! He was being shackled and pulled into the nearest dragon-proof cage. I looked helplessly at my dragon from under Filip's stomach. I felt nauseous as I saw my dragon as helpless as the day I had first found him in the woods so long ago.

Filip, once Toothless was safely secured on the cage finally released me from his hold. I ran to Toothless, gasping for breath. I was fumbling with the lock, trying to release him when Charlie pulled me back from the cage, his eyes burning with fury.

"I have just caught a Black Death, and you're trying to release it. Boy, I will not stand for this any longer..."

"No, no. He's Toothless, he's a friend!"

"He..." He pointed at Toothless. "Is nothing but a wild beast!"

"Let him go!"

"Let him go?"

"Yes!" I replied, frustrated

"He is the pride of my catch, a Black Death, the only one sighted for hundreds of years - and you're telling me to let him go?" Charlie spat.

"Yes!"

I made a break for the cage but Charlie knocked me to the ground, fist raised. He was about to hit me when a voice rang out.

Charlie looked up, surprised.

"Dumbledore?" he asked.

"Yes, Charlie. Some people do call me Dumbledore. Now, what are you doing with our young _guest_?"

"The lunatic here was trying to set free a Black Death that we had just caught. Saying the beast was his friend or something."

"The dragon is a friend." Dumbledore's voice rang out, calm and aloof. "Release it now." Sighing, Charlie complied.

Toothless bounded towards me, wary of the unfamiliar people who had just captured him and set him free in a matter of minutes. I didn't waste any time sticking around. I nodded my thanks to Dumbledore and threw Alma a final fish before flying back to the bed that awaited me in the Gryffindor Tower.

Barbarians, all of them.

 **Edited and reposted: 18/10/17**

 **~FlyingHamburgerRider**


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

 **Hiccup's POV**

After the incident with Toothless and Charlie, we only left our dragon's side at meals. I had been making progress with Alma but handed her training over to Astrid after she got burned by the Titan Monstrous Nightmare three times in a row.

I had moved to help Fishlegs with the Tyfoomerang but had left after he had assured me that everything was fine and I'd be better off helping the twins.

I had taken his advice and moved over to the single headed Zippleback, but was stopped by Ruffnut and Tuffnut. The twins crossed their arms simultaneously, letting me know that I wasn't going to be helping them anytime soon, and gestured to Snotlout who was training the dragon who had come in at dawn. The dragon would be a replacement in case one of the other dragons were injured (not on my watch). I was hesitant to leave the Zippleback in the twins care but my curiosity for this new dragon overpowered my caution.

When I reached Snotlout I was suprised to see him and Hookfang handling the dragon with comparative ease. Snotlout noticed me and waved me away. I shook my head at him and nodded to the dragon, indicating that I hadn't come to help, but merely to check out the new arrival.

"Oh." realised Snotlout, eyes still trained on the dragon. "Rumblehorn." In that moment I decided I didn't want to work near this dragon. It reminded me too much of Skullcrusher. I suddenly felt a wave of longing for Berk.

But that decision left me stuck with the Horntail.

It was massive. And very feisty. At first I tried feeding it by hand, but after nearly losing my arm to the dragon's maw I decided to gain its trust from a safer distance. But that still was no use. My situation was looking bleak.

The gang and I had been working on the dragons for some time now and the others were going really well, I on the other hand needed a miracle. Either way, the Dragon Academy needed a rest.

We had decided to skip dinner and we were all in bed, having our much needed rest when I heard a knock. I waited to see if it would go away, but it just became more persistent the longer I left it.

"Go Away!" Astrid murmured. It must've been the wrong thing to say; The door was blown of its hinges and a fuming Dumbledore strode into the room.

His face was red and his eyes, bloodshot. He waved his wand and in an instant the entire Dragon Academy was out of bed and fully dressed. He shoved a piece of cloth into my hands and instructed me harshly. "Make sure the dragon does not attack anything that smells like that" before waving his wand once more.

We were transported to the clearing, eerily quiet apart from the light snores resonating from the dragon's cages. I could hardly see a foot in front of my face, even with Toothless and Stormfly lighting the torches lining the ring. I stumbled around for a bit more, as though my body was here and my mind back in my bedroom. Still feeling light-headed, I teared the cloth into five pieces and gave one to each of the Dragon Riders (the twins shared one strip) and gave them their instructions.

I then turned to the Horntail, which was now fully awake. It stared at me with unwavering black eyes. _Its you again; that puny little human that gave me fish_ , they seemed to say. I had a long night cut out for me.

It had been another fruitless night for me and the Horntail and I was exhausted, not to mention annoyed. I was ashamed to admit my failure to the others and Toothless. I had spent several hours combing the castle to find somewhere to be alone when I wandered upon this tower.

It was perfect for my needs and I was happy with it. I had been sitting on the balcony for half an hour when I heard approaching footsteps. I turned around to look at the approaching person only to see two hands reach forward and push me off the edge of the balcony.

I fell through the air, wind whipping through my features. I screamed, horrified at the my impending doom; splattered on the cobbles below until the janitor comes round to peel my corpse off the floor. I couldn't believe it. I had survived dragons, Dagur, my childhood and everything else, but I was to be undone my a fall? Though, I thought as I plummeted through the air, I had had Toothless with me all those times before.

If I continued on falling I'd meet my sticky end, but how could I avoid it? I really didn't know. So I did the only option left to me. I curled up in a ball and awaited my fate.

Harry's POV

I really didn't know what to think about Hiccup and his gang and the fact that I had just been picked for the Triwizard Cup. (Second One More, I think) I had expressed my feelings to Hermione since Ron didn't trust me. Hermione agreed that the Vikings were mysterious, but she also said they were probably there for Ancient Runes since one of the languages studied was Norse. She was about to fill me in on her thoughts for the Triwizard Cup when we were distracted by sounds from the courtyard.

Me and Hermione rushed the courtyard, only to see Hiccup hurtling through the air at 1000 miles per hour. "Hermione!" I yelled to my friend. But I could see she was at loss on what to do as well. I watched helplessly as Hiccup hurtled to his death, only to see a black shape pluck Hiccup from the air and land in the courtyard.

Screams came from all around me, but I didn't understand. Beside me Hermione trembled. "Harry," she gasped. "That's a Black Death, the most deadly dragon on earth."

Hiccup's POV

Dumbledore was furious. He was simply at loss with what to do. He glared at me for a bit more before the man with the startling realistic plastic eye murmured something in his ear. Dumbledore nodded once before turning to me. "You know Norse - we'll say you're hear to teach Ancient Runes. As for the dragon. Children are scared. You will go with Professor Moody and show students how to defend themselves against dragons. Another reason as to why you're here." I stared at Dumbledore.

"What? Defence against dragons?" I was dumbfounded. Dumbledore waved his hand, bored.

"Line up... Shoot Spells." I gaped at him. I opened my mouth to protest, but the men were already gone.

Harry's POV

The food was finished, but dinner wasn't over. Dumbledore stood at the lectern, grey wisps hair suspended in the air after having escaped from his belt. I, as did many others knew what was happening. It was about the dragon Hiccup had been saved by.

I was really intrigued by this dragon that sat solemnly by Hiccup's at the end of the table. As well as the Black Death there were many others. Thanks to Hermione, I knew their names. The one sitting next to Astrid was a Swedish Short Snout ("Pretty long snout for a Short Snout," Hermione whispered), Fishlegs had a dragon that Hermione said was the lesser known Rocher, and the twins had a two headed Welsh Green ("Mutated. Only supposed to have one head.") Snotlout sat next to a Hungarian Horntail. ("Tiny,meant to be huge").

The sound of Dumbledore clearing his throat echoed throughout the room, stopping all conversation in its tracks. Everyone was curious, and somewhat frightened, about the dragons. They had been the topic of every conversation since lunch. Even the Vikings looked concerned. The dragons were now eating the cutlery (they had already finished the food).

"Students of Hogwarts School Of Witchcraft and Wizardry, I know you are all wondering about the Vikings and their dragons." A small murmur of agreement followed Dumbledore's words. "They are here to teach Norse in Ancient Runes! So please to not get yourself worked up any more." As I felt Hermione shiver in excitement at the prospect of having Vikings teach one of her favourite subjects, a voice rang clearly amid the din. " And the dragons?"

Dumbledore, of course had been expecting this question and answered promptly. "In Defence Against The Dark Arts you will be learning how to defend yourselves against dragons." Those words definitely left me eager for the next DADA class, but Hermione wasn't looking that excited, in fact she was looking somewhere else completely. I followed her gaze to the Vikings and saw six downcast faces. I stared at them hard. What was the matter? For that I wasn't sure. Wouldn't they be happy to be at Hogwarts?

 **Edited. Thank god.**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

 **Hiccup's POV**

I sat at the table, deep in thought. My life was not going to be worth living if I didn't train that bloody Horntail. Or Toothless got hurt. Most likely the latter. I was so caught up in thoughts, I didn't realise that the others were gone until they were long gone, Toothless included. I raced after them, not wanting to be left behind, but also forgetting the racket my stupid metal foot makes on the cobbles.

As I clattered my way across the cobbles my foot caught on the furry skin of a boot and I was sent sailing through the air. I turned sharply to see my tormentor. He looked all to familiar. I looked him over. The hands. The pale, white hands that had pushed me off the balcony.

oOo

I sat at the front of the class. Toothless beside me, a short straw tucked in my pocket. The straw that I pull out of the stack every single time, the stupid straw that got me landed here. Professor Moody blabbed on about who knows what. The silent, leering face of the White boy who had pushed me off the balcony. I fixed my stare to the White Boy. By Thor's Thunder, I didn't like him.

Finally, the blabbing came to an end, and then the shooting started. I watched, helplessly as Toothless was shot at with spells, all of which he avoided. To anyone else it would seem he was doing it with ease, but to the sharpened eye of a Dragon Rider it was evident that Toothless was on the verge of a collapse. He wouldn't break this session. I was sure of it. But he would still need some rest before our next gig. Which, was in two days (After Astrid, whom always picked he longest straw.) Moody applauded enthusiastically every time a student managed to hit somewhere near Toothless, which was becoming increasingly more often now. Sweat appeared on my forehead. By Oden, I was scared. But I still had faith in my dragon. Slowly, the minutes trickled by and the class came to a close. Toothless hadn't been hit once, but the others would have no such luck. Toothless was by far the best dragon considering reflexes. I knew Hermione was good with magic, could she make a shield around the dragons? I knew it would be cheating, but I didn't want any of the dragons hurt. I hurried off down the hall, Toothless at my heels.

oOo

I found Hermione in the Gryffindor Common Room, head buried in a book. When I cleared my thought she calmly bookmarked the page and looked up.

"Yes?" Hermione's smile was really beautiful. What a weird thought to think! But she is really pretty. God I want to kiss her. And her hair! Wait, what am I thinking, I have a crush already! But Astrid wouldn't mind if it was just a little kiss, right! Smile. Hair. Face. Beautiful. Pretty. Smart. Hermione smiled ever so slightly and waved her wand at me. Immediately all thoughts of kissing her went away.

"Sorry" she said as she pocketed her wand. "Love Charm. 7th year stuff, I know but really, to tell you the truth 4th year work is quite boring. I hope I'm not boasting because Ron always says I am." She did really ramble on, and usually I would ramble on with her, but my priority was fixed.

"Here's the thing Hermione, I need a shield charm for the dragons." Hermione nodded her head slowly in understanding.

"Yes. I can do that. And I understand why, I have a session with Fishlegs later today and I wouldn't want to hurt poor Meatlug! I was talking to him earlier and he made all your dragons seem like angels!" Seriously, I almost hugged her! But really, I have a girlfriend.

"But" Oh No. What is it? "I can't do it to Toothless." My stomach felt sick. "His scales are unique, and able to resist most spells." I smiled again. Toothless would be fine. "L

"I said most spells. Not all" Hermione added. Once again I had that sick feeling in my stomach.

oOo

Tomorrow was the First Task, today the last DADA lesson before we went home. Several weeks had passed and not a single dragon had been harmed. Even though Toothless was immune to many spells, he still used his reflexes. In all several weeks he only got hit once. But the spell had simply rebounded off his scales and back into the caster. But today the White Boy looked more sly than usual. When it was his turn I held my breath. He shot his spell, and I was glad to see it wasn't going anywhere near Toothless. But then I realised. It was coming at me.

oOo

I wasn't glad to say the White Boy's plan had worked. I was unscathed, and Toothless lay before me, unmoving. He was unconscious, that was all. But I was still angry at the White Boy. Still. Angry.

oOO

The sky was deepest blue and the day of the First Trial could not have been more perfect, apart from one thing, Toothless was still asleep. And Harry had drawn the Hungarian. The Hungarian. There were four dragons, and he had chose the Hungarian. My God I'm dead. Dufus is going to kill him.

I led the Hungarian Horntail into the stadium and chained it down. I looked at the chain in disgust. It wouldn't hold, not for long. But maybe long enough? Nonsense Hiccup. Stop dreaming. Harry is going to die. You're going to die. The entire Academy is going to die. All because the fabled Dragon Trainer couldn't Train a Dragon. To be fair Astrid's dragon hadn't held back to much with Cedric, but then again, it wasn't supposed to make it easy. In fact, Astrid had done it perfectly. I clicked the clasp of the chain around Dufus' leg and retreated back to the arena. I wasn't allowed to hang around to see what would happen, or hear for that matter. I could do nothing. Nothing at all.

oOo

Unnoticed by the person guarding me I crept away, and up the hill, towards the Trial. I stood up and groaned at the sight. Harry had summoned his broom, but had barely escaped with his life as Dufus sent a burst of fire after him. Harry made a dive for the egg, but Dufus swiped him away. Lost for what to do, he flew out of the Arena. I watched as the dragon swooped after Hiccup, and as I had known, the chain broke. I could do nothing. But then again, maybe I could. I strode up to the roof were the Hungarian was perched. Harry was clutching desperately at the windowsill. I only had seconds. I called up to the Hungarian to slow down. I was glad to see it complied, but as soon has Harry got his hands on the broom, Dufus spiralled on after him.

oOo

The Trial was over. Harry had escaped unharmed but we had not. After a breathtaking First Task the Academy had retreated to our room. We had collapsed onto our beds, but Astrid, ever alert, noticed something was wrong. She strode to the door and tried the handle. After a few tries, she turned back to us, face pale.

"It's locked". Fishlegs and I nodded duly. The twins looked as they always do, but Snotlout.

Ever the show-off, "Here babe, lemme try". Astrid rolled her eyes, but stood aside to let Snotlout through. From behind the bulk of Snotlout's body, we could hear muttered curses mixed with the grinding of the handle. A few moments later we heard a crack, and Snotlout turned back around to face us, looking guiltily down at his hands. We followed his gaze and realised with startling clarity, Snotlout had pulled the handle off. Astrid groaned. But she was cut short as the creaked open.

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Please leave a review!**

 **~FlyingHamburgerRider**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Dumbledore strode into the room, closely followed by Professor Moody. "Where is it?" Dumbledore murmured in my ear. "Where's what?" my face went blank. "Don't play 'round with me, boy" Moody growled in my other ear "The Book" Understanding dawned on me, they wanted the Book Of Dragons. "Why do you want it?" asked Fishlegs. Moody was about to answer when a hook-nosed teacher swept into the room, his robes billowing behind him. "Why do you think, Haddock?" he snarled "We want the dragons." "Snape..." Dumbledore started. "You can't have them" Astrid stepped up to Snape and pushed him over. Snape glowered at Astrid from the floor "Why you, little rat!" He drew his wand and was about to curse Astrid, when Moody plucked the wand from his fingers. "I'll take that" Moody turned back to Dumbledore "You were saying?" Dumbledore grasped the moment and started look hard at me. I had no idea what he was doing, but all of a sudden a sharp pain came from the stump of my severed foot. Memories flashed through my head. Toothless in the net. The Red Death. The Alpha. Drago Bludfist. Mum. Dad... Gone. And finally, handing Mum the Book Of Dragons. Asking her to keep it safe. Then all the memories faded, and I was back in the room with Dumbledore. "How did it go?" Moody asked Dumbledore. Dumbledore sighed "Easy. Doesn't know a shred of Occlumancy. But.." Dumbledore hesitated. "He doesn't have the Book" Moody cursed, and then, just before my world went black, I saw Snape point his wand at us from behind.

When I woke I was on a dungeon. As my vision swirled around me I notice my friends, gathered in a circle surrounding me. I saw Astrid, and was startled to see she neared a dark, black eye. "Astrid..." I wheezed. Astrid put a cold finger to my lips. Silenced get the current of slurred words coming from my mouth. I looked around at the others. "Vot happent?" My lips were chalky and dry and it ached even to say those two words. Astrid glanced at Fishlegs, silently asking him to explain. "Professor Snape, did something... And then, well then everything went black. When we woke, Astrid had a black eye, and you were still asleep." He explained. I sat up and looked at Astrid. "Where are we?" Astrid stayed silent. I turned to Fishlegs. He started going red in the face. He was trying to lie, I could tell. But here's the thing. Fishlegs _can't_ lie. It's not that he's doesn't want to. He actually _cannot_ lie! It's really annoying, but can be good in cases such as these. "Where being held prisoner" he blurted. Astrid cradled her head in her hands. I was about to answer when the a key turned in a lock and Dumbledore swept into the room. Closely followed by Moody and Snape. Under his breath, Snotlout murmured. "Dramatic Entrance... Tick." I could tell he was about to make another snide comment, but Dumbledore was doing something, so Snotlout just stood and watched as Dumbledore waved his wand. "What are you doing?" inquired Fishlegs. "Well." said Dumbledore in monotone. "You don't have the book of dragons..." he paused for dramatic effect, but before he could continue, the twins, predictably, interrupted him. "The hell you don't!" jeered Tuffnut. "When are you going to get that into your beardy brain?!" added Ruffnut. Dumbledore stared down at the twins from the brim of his crescent moon spectacles. "When are you?" he asked. Tuffnut murmured into his sister's ear. "Is that a Re-Karical question?" Ruffnut's face went blank. "I don't know!" she murmured back. "You know we can all hear you?" snapped Snape. "Hush, Snape" growled Moody. He turned to Dumbledore. "We should get started?!" "Agreed, Alaistor." replied Dumbledore. "Start What?" quivered Fishlegs.Dumbledore turned away from the chubby boy and waved his wand. Six identical tables appeared, stacked with mounds of parchment, pencils and rubbers. "This" he answered.

"This?" asked Astrid in disbelief. "What's that supposed to be?" Dumbledore looked hard at Astrid. "Ahhh, Astrid. You see, we have a few certain, well, troubles with a certain in-specified evil dude, and to cut to the point, we need the dragons." It all became clear to me. "You want the book." I started, but Snotlout interrupted. "To bad you don't have it!" But Fishlegs had figured it out the same time I had. "You want to write out the book for you." Dumbledore nodded. "You do realise that is a book with several thousand pages of information collected over hundreds of years!?" asked Fishlegs. "How can we be expected to write that entire thing out!" Dumbledore looked at us, maliciously. "If you start now, it should only take a few years. Diagrams included." Then he walked out out the door, closely followed by Snape. But Moody stayed put a few seconds to wave his wand, and put us in heavy chains. Once he was confident the chains were secure, he walked out as well. Leaving the Dragon Academy chained to the tables, in a grave silence. Forlornly, Astrid shook her head. "I guess we better get going." Snotlout, Fishlegs and I nodded our heads and got to work. But Ruffnut stopped us before we could start. "So, err, how do you write?" The others groaned, but I was thinking about other things. What was happening to the dragons?


	9. Chapter 8

_**I so sorry! I have taken ages to do this chapter, and it has been sitting on my computer for ages, waiting to be completed. I've had a lot going on lately and I've been finding it hard to update, schools been annoying. We started swimming today, and I got really bothered. I'm only updating now, because I've been watching a Very Potter Musical. (Check it out, it's really good!) Anyway, I have been suffering from serious Writers Block, so the next chapter may take a while, but hey! I'll give it a go. Please don't get mad at me, for some of my paragraphs include:**_

 _ **1\. Bad**_ _ **Writing in general**_

 _ **2\. Unrealistic scenarios**_

 _ **3\. Bad understanding of character's true emotions and feelings. (I really haven't read HP and HTTYD, DROB, DDOB and RTTE in a VERY long while.)**_

 _ **~FlyingHamburgerRider**_

* * *

 **Chapter 8**

 **Gobber's POV**

I was getting worried, I was.

I had scoured the the castle, top to almost bottom for the Dragon Riders. I had asked Dumble-whats-his-name if I could check the dungeons, but the old bastard assured me that they were fine, just sleeping in the Forbidden Forest. Does the dick-head think I'm stupid. Snotlout (I hate that guy) would never (let me emphasise on that note) ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever ever (you get my point) sleep on the ground when there was a perfectly (Ahhh, Perfect!) bed, right here in this bloody castle. I don't know where they are, they could be injured, or DEAD! I would never be able to look Valka in the face if I let her only son die! And only after they had just been reunited. And all the other Dragon Riders' families too! (Do Ruffnut and Tuffnut even have parents? I swear sometimes they were sent down to Berk by Loki, as punishment for killing the dragons!) I admit I was a little stressed.

My stress had gone down when I found Grump, I hadn't bought him with me, but by my Great Aunt Bertha's Silk Knickers, that dragon determined! Lazy! But determined.

But when Grump came, I had realised something, nothing stood between me and the dungeons, Grump could bite through anything, including magically enhanced doors.

"Close ya noggin, Grump! We're trying NOT to get caught" I whispered in my dragon's ear. Grump farted, annoyed, but stayed silent. I rode down the dark hallways of the Hogwarts school dungeons. When I saw that some of the dungeons were classrooms, and teacher's rooms, I made a mental note to convert some of the cells of the Berk Jail House into Gobber and Grump Place. As we continued down the cobwebby hall and peered (or in Grump's case, sniffed) into yet another door. I rode down the hall and reached a dark black door. The final door.

Grump bit through the many layers of metal, layer by layer, munch by munch. It fell into such a rhythm, I nearly didn't notice when he had bit through the final layer. I took a deep breath and peered through the hole.

The first thing I saw was the Dragon Riders, chained to tables, surrounded by a forest of paper. Their faces were gaunt and pale. Their eyes were red with lack of sleep. I yelled out them, "Don't worry! I'm here" Hiccup looked up at me with his once-bright eyes. _Go._ He mouthed, before looking back down again. Hiccup... What had they done to him? I took a step back from the hole. I breathed in again, and was about to tell Hiccup he was out of his mind, only to have a hand close over my mouth. The last thing I saw, before the black had gripped my vision completely was Hiccup. He looked at me with eyes shining with tears. Before I blacked out entirely I saw him lower is head and get back to work. The boy, once so vibrant, was fading.

 **Tuffnut's POV**

DUMBydore strutted into the room angrily, a bit like Chicken when she hasn't had her special time. "How?" He fumed. "How did that pea-brained lump find you? Someone has been feeding others information." "No we haven't." whispered Hiccup, loud enough so that everyone could hear, quiet enough to know he was on the verge of breaking. "How else would the piece of beef find you? Anyway... me and my friends know how to put an end to it." Moody strode in and halted next to DUMBydore. "However writes the least at the end of each day will get punished. Stops people from leaking information, AND it gets work done faster. Also, during the day, if you slack, we whip you! This, should be very fun!" "Do we have our first victim?" asked DUMBydore to nobody in particular. Out of nowhere, Snape materialised behind my sister. Nearly giving me a heart attack. "Yes. We. Do" Snape grinned evilly down at my sister. Ruffnut's face went pale. "NO!" I screamed. I tried to tear off my chains, but nothing happened. I watched, helplessly, as Ruffnut was dragged out of the room. And, as she would, trash-talking all the way. The last thing I heard from sister, before she was dragged out the door was a single comment that made me have hope, to let me know she still had strength, "Get your hands off me! This grimy look is a hard one to maintain!" I probably would have said something better, but I wasn't the one who was going to be tortured.

 **Hermione's POV**

"Ron! We are about to be EARLY to Potions, and you want to go look for the dragon riders, in the dungeons! We can't waste this opportunity!" I scolded Ron.

"Sure we can, Hermione. Come on, Harry." Ron and Harry started down the hallway.

"Wait! I'm coming too!" I shouted at Ron.

"Well, hurry up then!" He shouted back. I stumbled down the hall, trying frantically to balance my giant pile of books in my arms.

"Hermione! Come look at this!" called Harry. I doubled my pace and looked at what Harry was staring at - a hole had been punched into the iron door! And as I looked along at the many other iron doors, I noticed that they all had a similar hole punched into the metal. The others started looking through random holes immediately, but I was more interested in the door, right at the end of the corridor. It was dark black, and was more heavily reinforced than the others. And, on the ground were the tiniest indications of a fight. The tiniest bit of blood, the tiniest little scuff mark and a key. I ran over to the door and peered inside.

"Ron! Harry!" I whispered, just loud enough for them to hear. "It's the Dragon Riders"

"What are they doing to you?" asked Harry. The Dragon Riders were clearly tired. But Astrid still retained enough of her spirit and strength to answer Ron's question.

"They are making us work for them. They want control of the dragons." Astrid paused, reflecting on the misery she had obviously been injuring for the past few days.

"Don't worry" Ron whispered to Astrid, "We're going to save you!"

"I'll send a message to Lupin and Sirius!" Contributed Harry eagerly.

"After exams of course, though!" I added. The other two looked at me. "Fine." I mumbled. Those boys really did not grasp the fact that our education should come first, no matter how dire the situation. But as I looked at my watch I realised we didn't have time to bicker.

"Harry, Ron, we're late!" I grabbed the others and dragged them down the corridor, nodding to Astrid has I pulled them towards the dungeons. Astrid nodded back, hope flickering in her eyes.


	10. Chapter 9

**I HAVE UPDATED GUYS AND I AM SO SO SO SO SO PROUD OF MYSELF, AND SO SO SO SOS SO SO SO SORRY FOR TAKING SO LONG UPDATING! This chapter I'd dedicated to all the people who are getting really annoyed that I am taking so long to update. But I have some good news, I AM ON SCHOOL HOLIDAYS SO I WILL BE UPDATING MORE QUICKLY NOW. Yay! So on with the story!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9**

 **Hermione's POV**

What was happening to the Dragon Riders was absolutely INHUMAN! I couldn't believe it! I had seen the hopelessness written all over Hiccup's face. I could tell that he was on breaking point, she had to get them out soon or it would be to late for Hiccup. But how?

My mind fumbled over the possible escape ideas. Each one more desperate than the last. My most previous thought was to bash Ron's big, THICK, head against the door until it broke. But it'd probably kill him in the process. I could feel an idea licking at my brain, just waiting for me to open the door that would lead me to the answer to my problem.

"Granger." snarled Snape, his lengthy drawl snatching me out of my thoughts. "What type of key unlocks a swamp door?"

The Key! "That's it!" I beamed up at Snape, his thin lips curling upwards.

"Excuse me Granger. Need I repeat my question?"

"Oh, no. Of course not."

Snape bent down at looked me in the eye. "Then what's the answer?"

"Swamp weed boiled in goldentrout slime for a month in the moonlight, then twisted into a key." I looked down at my feet.

Snape straightened up and looked at me hard. "Class dismissed." He said, his eyes still fixated on me. Harry and Ron started towards the door. Shape arched his neck to look at them.

"Potter, Weasly! Stay here. Detention!" Harry and Ron groaned loudly, but sat back down. I slid out my seat and almost ran out the door.

When I turned down the corridor I almost screamed with relief. In a dusty corner of the corridor was the key. I slipped it in to my pocket and stood back up. In the corner of my ear I heard a croak. I whirled around and peered into the hole in the door.

"Beware Dumbledore." Astrid croaked. Astrid glanced sideways at Hiccup,who was pale and staring blankly at his piece of parchment. His hand moving dully as he filled the page with Nordic Runes. Astrid turned back to me. "And Hurry." I gaped at her. 'Beware Dumbledore?' He couldn't be apart of this, he just couldn't! But then again, I knew Astrid wasn't lying when she said that, or when she told me to hurry. Hiccup was almost completely broken. I would've released the dragon riders on the spot if the logical part of my brain hadn't intervened. They couldn't escape know, not in the daylight.

 **Astrid's POV**

Ruffnut's was dragged back into the dungeon with bloody gashes covering her face, pus oozing out of the wounds. Purple bruises populated her legs and arms, with the occasional whip mark crisscrossing the limb. Ruffnut was pushed back into her seat roughly by Moody. Who lifted the room as soon as he had finished clicking Ruffnut's irons onto her ankles and wrists. Tuffnut looked at Ruffnut with despair. A shuddering sob choked in his throat.

"I, I shouldn't have let them take you. I, I should've fought them!" Tuffnut leant over to Ruffnut looking to comfort her, when Ruffnut suddenly slumped to the table.

"Ruffnut!" screamed Tuffnut. "Wake Up!" From the table came a muffled laugh.

"How could you, Ruffnut?!" But Tuffnut was laughing now too.

Next to me Hiccup's blank eyes turned to face the delirious twins. "Quiet." He murmured, before turning back to his work.

"Astrid..." Fishlegs started, his pencil temporarily breaking the continuous pattern Fishlegs had been working at for the last few days.

"Don't say it." I said to Fishlegs. Not even bothering to turn around in my sap eat to face him.

"But Astrid," Fishlegs' eyes bored into the back of my head.

"I know." The tip of my pencil shattered as I pressed its charcoal led into the table. I knew what Fishlegs was trying to tell me, but I couldn't bear hearing it said out loud. The moment I had knew was coming, had come.

Hiccup was broken.

 **Ron's POV**

Hermione sat beside me, her brown her framing her face. Her prep lay undone before her. A wild look roared in her eyes. She kept glancing at the clock, as if, waiting for someone. Harry sat next to me, his astrometry chart set out in front of him, covered in wild scribbles.

"Hermione," he droned, "Where would Venus be at this time of year?"

"I don't know." she replied blankly. Harry looked at Hermione with evident disbelief scrawled all over his face.

"Look here, Hermione. I know you're a tad annoyed that I keep asking you to do my stuff for me and everything, and with the whole Goblet Of Fire thing, homework is getting really hard, and I'm sorry, but could you just answer this one question?"

"Got to get ready." Hermione murmured, standing up from her chair. She gathered her work in a neat bundle and rushed up the fairs to the girl's dormitory.

"What's got into her?" Asked Harry.

"I dunno, Harry. I honestly don't know."

 **Hermione's POV**

My skin felt slick against the damp blankets wrapped around my body. I glanced over at the clock hanging suspended on the wall. _11.36PM_ it read. Everyone should be asleep. I strained to listen to the faint snoring of the girls in the beds next to me. Sweat wet my forehead as I gently pushed the covers off my bed, folding them into a neat bundle, I would not be returning that night.

I manoeuvred my legs off the bed, and felt my toes touch the stones, the cold seeping my veins. Slowly, I stood up and crept towards the trunk at the end of my bed. I crouched in front of my trunk and pulled my wand out of my pocket. My wand fitted perfectly into the crease it had worn away into my hand after many years of use. I shaking,y point my wand at the singular latch on my trunk.

" _Alohomora_." I whispered. From the latch I heard a faint click, and the latch popped open. Carefully, I lifted up the lid, conscious of the fact I needed to be absolutely silent. I leaned the lid of the trunk on the end of my bed, and reached in. My hands pushed through neat bundles of clothing and possessions. Finally, my fingers clutched around an iron object. I gripped the key tightly as I pulled it out, dusting the dust off its edges. Slowly, I creeped towards the door. The hinges creaked in protest as I pushed the doors open. I gritted my teeth to stop them from clicking together as Ij waited to see if any of the girls would wake. When none did, I slipped through the door and down the stairs. My feet padded across the room towards the tunnel when a voice called out.

"Hermione, you can't go!" It was Ron.

"Why not? The Dragon Riders need me." I replied, still looking at the tunnel.

"Look at this." It was Harry.

"Look at what?" Harry shoved a piece of parchment under my nose. The Marauder's Map. A gasp of shock and despair came from my mouth as I saw Moody, Snape and, and _Dumbledore_ in the dungeon which held the Dragon Riders.

"Why are they all there, Hermione, what are they doing the Dragon Riders?" Whispered Ron from beside me. A choking sob blocked my throat.

"I don't know, Ron," I felt my head lean down on his shoulder. "I honestly don't know."

I stumbled to my bed and fell onto the bare mattress, the key still clutched in my hand. That night I cried myself to sleep.

 _Had I failed the people who had put their faith, their trust, their hope, and their lives in mey hands._

 _Had I failed them when I had given up?_

 _ **Would I be too late?**_

 ** _oOo_**

 ** _Sorry for taking so long too update. Thanks for all the reviews. I'll try and update soon!_**

 ** _~FlyingHamburgerRider_**


	11. Chapter 10

**I'm so sorry I took so long to update this chapter! This is dedicated to the Guest who reviewed and asked me to update for her birthday! I'm so so so sorry. We were away a while and I couldnt update (we had no wi-fi!) So I'm so sorry. This chapter is a bit shorter than my usaul ones, but it will answer quite a lot of your reviews, mostly the ones where you asked why the proffessors are so out of character. So, without further ado, let's get into the chapter!**

 **~FlyingHamburgerRider**

* * *

 **Harry's POV**

"Hey Hermione!" I slid down the banister spiralling down from the boys dormitries, before jumping off the end and landing with a thump on the carpet.

Hermione turned dully around to face me, her forehead wrinkled with exhaustion and worry. "What is it Harry? What do you want? It better be something good, because I haven't slept since yesterday!"

"Yeah, I know. You have bags under your eyes, but..."

Hermione interupted, "You came down to tell me that?!"

"No, just wait,"

"No Harry, just stop. I just need to focus on one thing, and that's the Dragon Riders." Hermione turned back to her book in which escape diagrams were scrawled all over the page.

"McGonagall!" I shouted. Everyone turned to look at me. I probably shouldn't have shouted but I needed Hermione to listen to me. Embarrased, I slid down quietly into the seat next to Hermione.

"What do you mean 'McGonagall'?" she asked.

"McGonagall, she'll listen to us! She kinda always does."

"Or she could just be in league with Dumbledore." Said a voice from behind us. We both swung round.

"Ron!" Hermione hissed. "Don't you dare ever creep up on me again!"

"Yeah, Ron. You're super creepy, but who knew you could creep around so well?"

Ron shrugged. "Last holidays Fred and George kept stealing my stuff, trust me, it was super duper hard to get it back since they in their room nearly the whole time! Don't tell Mum, but they were making joke stuff to sell at school."

I laughed. "Don't worry Ron, I won't."

Hermione huffed impatiently, "Come on guys. We need to see Mcgonagall before breakfast!"

"Relax Hermione!" Groaned Ron. "It's Sunday! We have ages."

"No. We have to go now."

"Hermione is right Ron," I said. "We have to go now!"

"Fine." Agreed Ron.

"Come on guys!" Called Hermione, who was already halyway through the tunnel. Hurrying, we rushed after her.

We had been sitting in McGonagall's office for what seemed like forever. But still McGonagall had not arrived. I picked up another Fizzing Wizzbee from the plate in the middle of the table and popped it in my mouth. As I floated upwards I realised that Ron was suspended up in the air, so close to the ceiling his head was touching. If he ate another one of the Fizzing Wizzbees clutched in his hand he would rocket through the ceiling.

"Ron, don't eat any more! Come down!" I hissed.

Ron looked quizzically down at me. "Why?" he asked. As I started to slowly sink to the ground I pointed upwards. Ron glanced up and saw the ceiling mere inches from his head.

"Geewiz Harry, Thanks!" he looked shocked at how close he had come to concussion. Slowly he sunk back down into his chair, before promptly stuffing a handfull of Fizzing Wizzbees into his mouth and propelling upwards. I sighed and picked up one of the magazines on the table. It was Witch Weekly. I flicked through the glossy pages before throwing it back down onto the table. I wondered what McGonagall was doing with them anyway.

"Harry!" came a whisper from above.

"What Ron?" I turned around to look, only to start laughing.

"What is it, Harry?" asked Hermione, annoyed. But when she saw what I was looking at she started laughing too, before falling silent. I knew by the look on her face that she was thinking about the Dragon Riders. She turned back around.

"Harry, get me down!" yelled Ron.

I looked up at Ron, hanging suspended from McGonagall's chandelier and sighed. "I'm coming Ron!"

Breakfast was long gone, and we were all hungry. But still McGonagall had not arrived. We were just about to leave when the doors were swung wide uon and McGonagall strode in. She looked unsuprised to see us.

"So what are you here for, Harry?" directing the question at me.

Hermione answered for me. "It's Dumbledore, you remember the Dragon Riders, don't you, Professor?"

"Well, yes. But they went home." replied McGonagall, confused.

"That's the thing. They didn't go home. Dumbledore has locked them up!"

"But that's impossible."

"No. We saw him with our very own eyes!"

"No Hermione. You don't understand. Dumbledore couldn't have locked anybody up, beacause he's at the Ministry of magic."

 **Astrid's POV**

My blank piece of parchment stared blankly up at me. I couldn't do it anymore. I snapped my pencil and ripped my parchment to seal my defiance of Dumbledore and his co-workers. Next to me I saw Tuffnut do the same closely, followed by Ruffnut and Snotlout. I heard another piece rip and another pencil snap and my thoughts turned to Fishlegs.

"Good job." I whispered to him. He turned around to face me, in his hands a un-snapped pencil.

"But, that means..." I looked up. Hiccup slowly rose. Defiance shining in his eyes.

"Come on gang. Let's go."


	12. Chapter 11

**Hi everybody and welcome back! I'm sorry this update took forever and you're probably cursing me the depths of the ocean, but this chapter is one of my best, and I hope you think so to. So without further ado- here it is!**

* * *

 **Astrid's POV**

I watched as Hiccup wriggled around in his his chains, struggling to reach his boot. I had no idea what he was doing. This whole defiance thing had clearly gone to his head. But then I heard a click. The smoky smell of metal melting filled the air, as Hiccup used his spare canister of Monstrous Nightmare gel and a little box of tinder to melt the chains. When he was free, I noticed he went straight to me, instead of doing Fishlegs, who was directly behind him. Suddenly, I had the irresistible urge to kiss him. I felt my cracked lips brush his cheek.

"I missed you." I whisper into his tangled locks. I wrapped my arms around him, wanting to never let go.

"I missed you too." I looked up at Hiccup, and he kissed me back.

Fishlegs has long since snapped his pencil. It turns out that he would've done it before, he just couldn't. I mean seriously, Fishlegs isn't strong enough to snap a pencil. I had to do it for him. I could see he was grateful as he said so himself. From the looks Tuffnut and Snotlout had been giving him I could tell why. But I wondered why Ruffnut didn't join in the jeering. In fact, now I think about it, Ruffnut hasn't been quite right in the head ever since she came back from the beating. I looked over to Hiccup who was just about to release Ruffnut. But when Hiccup reached out with the gel Ruffnut went pale and pushed him away.

"Go" she rasped. "You have to leave me." I could tell by her face that it was taking a lot to say this. She was fighting something in her mind. It was a silent battle and from the looks on her face you could tell that Ruffnut was losing.

"Beating. Potion. They. Control." She paused. "Me." And then her eyes glazed over and she took on a look of anger and resent. She opened her mouth to speak, but the voice was not hers. It was Moody's.

"Get back here!" Ruffnut's eyes returned to normal.

"Go!" She pleaded one last time before Moody took control once more. I looked at Hiccup.

"Come on gang, lets go." I could tell how hard it had been to say that just looking at the unconcealed pain on his face. Hiccup turned and hopped out the window he had just melted. The room was tall, so Hiccup had to clamber up the wall to get at it. Snotlout and Fishlegs followed him with me trailing behind. I looked down and saw Tuffnut start up the wall, his silent sobs deafening my ears.

I pulled myself out the window and onto the ground. We had been lucky there had been a window, since we had been so far underground. I heard Hiccup whistle and an ecstatic Toothless bound out of the forest, closely followed by Hookfang, Meatlug, Barf and Belch and finally, Stormfly. All of us breathed an extended sigh of relief when we learnt that they had been safe in hiding all this time. I wanted to scream Stormfly's name, I was so happy, but I knew I couldn't. I couldn't put the others in danger because of any recklessness on my behalf. Without turning around Hiccup made a series of complex hand signals.

Hop on your dragon and follow me.

We did this and followed him into the forest. All of us were thinking the same thing.

'How do we get back to Berk!' All of us were desperate for an answer but none of us wanted to say it out loud. Finally we stopped in an secluded clearing.

"We'll set up camp for tonight and tomorrow we'll rescue Ruffnut and Gobber before trying find a way back to Berk. Don't worry Tuffnut, we'll get Ruffnut back." Hiccup turned to face Tuffnut and comfort him - but Tuffnut wasn't there.

"Oh no." I whispered. I immediately knew what had happened. He had stayed behind. I looked at Barf and Belch. They looked lost without their owners. I mentally kicked myself over and over again. I should've paid more attention to him. Of course he would've doubled back to stay with his sister.

"It's okay Astrid. We'll rescue them both in the morning." Hiccup tried to comfort me, but as I lay down I couldn't stop thinking of how and what I could've done to save the twins.

 **Harry's POV**

I watched Hermione sprint out of the office doors as fast as her legs could carry her. I shot an apologetic look at the confused professor before racing out after my friend, Ron hot on my heels.

"Wait Hermione!" I shouted after the fading girl, the flurry of her cloak the only thing keeping Ron and I on track. Hermione didn't answer.

"The library?" Called Ron, "Why'd she want to go into the library at a time like this?"

"Therapy?" I suggested. "That's were we usually find her when she upset." We followed her into the library where Hermione was bargaining with Madam Pince, the librarian. As Ron and I edged closer we caught snippets of their conversation.

"I cannot let you into the Restricted Section without a proper note. It is school rules."

"But Miss! It's urgent." Spluttered Hermione. But Madam Pince held firm. Looking down her hooked nose at Hermione, she scowled at her usually rule-abiding student.

"No." Hermione backed away, looking like she had just lost the war. Meanwhile, Ron had been shuffling stuff round in his bag.

"What are you doing Ron?" I hissed. Ron smiled triumphantly at me and pulled out a small slip of parchment.

"Take a look at this. Fred and George made it." I took the parchment out of Ron's hands. I quickly scanned the page before excitedly stuffing the piece in Hermione's hand. Shocked, Hermione stared down at the paper like her life depended on it. Before promptly presenting McGonagall's perfectly forged signature to Madam Pince. The librarian curled her lip in distaste and help the signature up to check it for any signs of forgery. But judging from the scowl on her face, she couldn't.

"Very well." She sneered at us. "You have 10 minutes." We could've jumped for joy as we speed-walked towards the Restricted Section.

"Hermione," I whispered.

"What?"

"What are we doing in the Restricted Section?"

Hermione laughed as if I was stupid. "The revealer potion. It's like the Polyjuice Potion antidote. If we spray it on someone who is currently wearing it, it will reveal their true identity. If we spray it on a normal person it will have no effects." She explained. She scanned the row of books and carefully selected the one she needed. She flicked through the pages until she reached the Revealer Potion recipe. Hermione whipped out her wand and waved it over the page, whispering silently as she went. She took out a blank piece of parchment and repeated. Except, when she took her wand away from the paper it was no longer blank. Instead it contained a picture perfect copy of the Potion.

"Isn't that OWL magic?" Asked Ron.

"It was just a bit of extension work." Hermione blushed, embarrassed. Ron nodded, this sort of advanced magic was not out of the ordinary in Hermione's armoury.

"Anyway - we'll need a few things." She continued. Ron and I groaned. We all remembered the last time we had needed a few things three years ago.

"Hermione, if we're going to pull this off we can't attract any attention from Snape. Not just because of what's happening with the Dragon Riders, but because Snape is still mad at me for the whole Goblet Of Fire thing." I reminded the group. When the Goblet of Fire had coughed up my name Snape had been irreversibly convinced that I had rigged it. Though the majority of the teachers had been partially convinced of my innocence, Snape refused to believe me. And, because of that, my week at been scattered with detentions - every one from Snape.

"We can get most of the ingredients from student stores, but the few we can't - there will be another way, other than Snape's stores." Hermione reassured us. But we weren't buying it.

"Hermione - what other way?" Ron asked cautiously.

Hermione chuckled unconvincingly. "Well all the other ingredients can be collected from - ah - The Forbidden Forest."

* * *

 **Hi Everyone,**

 **The Yule Ball is coming up, but it will be nothing like any before. With mystery and deceit at every turn, weaving in and out of the shadow's will be a character of YOUR creation. Just put a name, year, school (it can be any of the three schools), a house (if you're character is from Hogwarts), and any characteristics that make you're character unique!**

 **Leave any suggestions in the comments, and until next time**

 **~FlyingHamburgerRider**


	13. Chapter 12

**Hi everyone! FlyingHamburgerRider here! I hope you are enjoying the story so far! So please Read and Review! (Please!)**

* * *

 **CHAPTER 12**

 **Harry's POV**

"No way." Said Ron. "Remember what happened last time we went into the forbidden forest?!"

"Well," I forced a smile, "we didn't die last time at least."

"Yeah! What's that supposed to mean! You had be rescued by Firenze and me and Hermione nearly died!"

"Actually, Ron," Hermione started, "I'll think you'll find that..."

"Shut up Hermione." Ron interrupted her before she could counter his comment.

"Shut up Ron." Snapped Hermione.

"Guys, break it up." I butted in before another big argument could start. "That was going in really deep, most of the ingredients should be a few paces in, right Hermione?" Hermione went to speak, before clenching her mouth back up.

"Hermione." Warned Ron.

"Fine." Sighed Hermione. Most of the ingredients are only a few paces into the forest, but there is one ingredient we have to go further in to get; Moonbeam Fern."

"You mean that highly poisonous fern that only grows in the deepest part of the Forbidden Forest?" Queried Ron.

Hermione gulped. "Yes."

 **Lupin's POV**

"Lupin, gimme that map." Whispered Sirius.

"No." I flattened out the map on my knee and headed blindly down the corridor. I heard a squeak from behind me as Sirius stumbled on the cobbles. I heard a distinct flash as Sirius transfigured. I didn't have to look to know that Sirius was now a dog. I pulled Harry's letter out of my pocket.

"Lumnos." I murmured. I bought my glowing wand to the page and read through the letter.

Hey Lupin, it's Harry. I was wondering if you and Sirius could possibly give us a hand with a break out. You see, the Tri-Wizard Tournament started a few weeks ago, and a few weeks beforehand, the Dragon Academy arrived. Dumbledore said they were here with their dragons to help in the DATDA lessons and teach ancient runes. How ever, one day when we were heading to Potions, Ron randomly suggested we should look for the Dragon Riders as they had randomly disappeared. (Okay, it wasn't that random. The night before, since the Dragon Riders hadn't turned up at our DATDA lesson Ron and I had been circulating about why they hadn't arrived. I said it was because stupid Draco tricked the black dragon and knocked it unconscious. Ron said that they had been locked up because the black dragon had woken up eventually and it's not nice to hold grudges. I said he was stupid.) I agreed since we had made a bet the night before and I wanted those 7 chocolate frogs that we had bargained on. Hermione grumpily tagged along because she didn't want to be left behind. Turns out Ron was actually right and so I had to give him the chocolate. (Damn you, Ron!) Anyway, when we asked McGonagall about Dumbledore's actions, she said it couldn't have been Dumbledore since he was at a conference with the Ministry of Magic. McGonagall had also been at the conference but had arrived back early. We are planning to make a potion (by 'we', I mean Hermione.) to unmask the evil Dumbledore. Meanwhile, if you can possibly do this. We need you to help break the Dragon Riders and their friend, Gobber, out. I have marked out on my map where the Dragon Riders are locked up, but I'm afraid Gobber's coordinates are up to you if you can help. I'm sorry we couldn't end on a happier note, but Hermione's staring angrily at me and Ron is - wait, what is Ron doing? - making rude gestures at me.

Regards,

Harry Potter

I turned down the corridor to where a single iron bound door stood. I was about to flick my wand at the door and thrust my way in when I felt Sirius - now in human form - tap me on the shoulder. I turned around to face Sirius. He made frantic shushing gestures and gestured to listen. I put my hand up to my ear and listened close.

'Where are they?' I heard a voice from the other side door threaten.

'Let me torture him, Dumbledore...' I heard a second voice demand.

'Not yet, I feel Gobber is right on breaking point - aren't you?' Dumbledore whispered.

"That's the Gobber we're looking for right?" Sirius asked.

"I think so." I replied. "But Sirius didn't you hear? It is Dumbledore."

"Well who are we doubting; Harry or Dumbledore?"

"I don't know-"

"Wait!" Sirius pulled a crumpled piece of paper out of his pocket. Sirius muttered something indistinguishable and a inky wave of colour swept across the page.

"That isn't what I think it is..."

"It is. I kept one before they were nearly all destroyed. But Lupin's look at this."

I looked down at Sirius' Marauders' Map and saw us two on the map as well as three people in the room next to us. Gobber, B. Crouch and B. Lestrange.

"But Dumbledore-" I froze. "Poly juice Potion."

"If Bellatrix is in there we can't risk it." Sirius warned. "We'll have to wait them out before rescuing Gobber."

"Agreed." We backed away to wait Bellatrix out.

 **Ruffnut's POV**

I feel so bad. Tuffnut was slumped in the corner of the gloomy dungeon, out cold. I feel so helpless - like I did when we almost had to leave Scauldy behind. But this time there is almost no chance of saving my twin. I had watched my twin being beaten up while interrogated for the Rider's hiding place. And the worst part had been that it been MY hands that had down the deeds. I had watched helplessly from the back of my mind as I felt the dark mist cloud my actions. My body had been no longer mine as I had strangled and punched him again and again, pummelling him into oblivion. I didn't even know how it happened. Once second I was trying to pull Dumbledore away from Tuffnut and the next I was hitting him. I saw Tuffnut stir slightly in his slumber. I pushed myself against the wall tightly as I felt the mist curling around me.

"No, no, no!" I whispered.

"Ruffnut - I know you're still in there. This is like when you were accidentally got swallowed by Meatlug - you came out again. Just maybe not in the nicest way." Tuffnut pleaded with me. I felt myself curl my fists and lunge towards him. I drew my fist back as Tuffnut struggled against my iron grip.

His eyes met mine; "Please Ruffnut."

I felt myself break away against the mist.

'Better without you.' 'All your fault.' I felt the mist circle me as I struggled from its grip. I felt my hand slacken and I slipped into unconsciousness.

 **Tuffnut's POV**

I watched as my sister's eyes narrowed and her expression became one of absolute contempt. She trailed towards me threateningly. I tried to tell her that she could do it but she kept advancing. Her hand clamped me with an unnaturally tight grip as she drew back her fist to pelt me. I looked into her slotted eyes, embedded in a sea of blue. I felt her eyes lock with mine - times were desperate. Later, when I saved her from this mess I will account of this time in which I would be terribly heroic and not even let Ruffnut near me. And I would most certainly not tell them about the sappy stuff in which I stared solemnly into her eyes and pleaded for my sister - my real sister - to come back.

"Please Ruffnut." I whispered. I was her face contort into a fury of emotions that she fought desperately to control. Suddenly the silent cacophony subsided as Ruffnut's head thudded on the floor of the dungeons.

Oh yeah - I did it!

I gasped - heroically- as I heaved Ruffnut onto my shoulder. Man she needed to lose a few kilos. I ran through the open door. It had been left open to torture Ruffnut as she had known escape was impossible as she was constantly under Dumbledore's control. I raced through the labyrinth of corridors and dungeons. It felt like hours before I found myself outside the dungeon where we had previously been captured.

"And 'hen-" I heard Gobber's voice from inside.

'What?' I thought as I placed Ruffnut down and peered inside. Inside was Gobber; slightly beaten up but looking completely fine. He was engaged in a animate conversation with two men. One was mire tidy and refined while other wore his hair a lot looser and messier. I was trying to stay inconspicuous when Gobber spotted me.

"Tuffnut!" He shouted. "Where a' the others?"

"Shhh..." hissed the men.

"They're hiding out in the forest but I kept back with Ruff cause she's under like a mind control spell..."

"Mentis Imperium." The refined one muttered.

"What?" I asked.

"He means the spell which she's under. But don't worry we can reverse it." The other man explained.

"But Ruffnut said it was a Potion - not a spell." I said.

"Well, the Potion is just a more advanced version of the spell." He answered.

"Can ya reverse it, Lupin?" Gobber asked the refined man.

"I think so. Is she with you?" Lupin's asked me. I nodded and fled out of the room, returning with Ruffnut a few seconds later. I lay her down in front of Lupin, but he shook his head.

"No, Sirius is much better at these things than me." He gestured to the messsy man. Hesitantly I moved Ruffnut over to Sirius. I watched as he pulled out a wand and muttered,

"liberum arbitrium."

I let out a gasp of shock as I watched Ruffnut raise her head groggily off the ground.

"Good." Lupin smiled. "But we have to move. Bellatrix will be back soon and we need to get you to the rest of the Riders who are-" I watched as he pulled a piece of parchment out of his pocket and muttered something. He peered closely at the map.

"Would this be H. Haddock, S. Jorgenson and -"

"Yes, yes!" I cried. "Where are they?"

"Right at the edge of the Forbidden Forest. I can get you there in 10 minutes." He replied.

"Well then." Laughed Gobber as he unchained his dragon, Grump, from where he was chained in the corner. "What are we waiting for? Let's go!"

* * *

 **Until Next Time ~ FlyingHamburgerRider**


	14. Chapter 13

**CHAPTER 13**

 **Harry's POV**

"Status?" I asked eagerly.

"Available. She has a sister too, and they're both not bad considering looks..." Replied Ron. We had just returned from a humiliating dance session from McGonagall and were trying to hitch a partner before all the good ones were taken.

"I guess they would be fine. Is there any more Gryffindor girls available - our year - before we move on to the other houses?" I asked Ron as he peered down at his list of girls.

"Padma and Parvati are free - those are the ones we were just looking at and... Harry! Hermione! We can take Hermione!" He whispered excitedly.

"Oh no. She's gonna be so mad that we didn't ask her in the first place!" I told Ron.

He shrugged. "Worth a shot though, right?"

oOo

We couldn't see Hermione anywhere so I said that if Ron got Hermione I needed someone else.

"Padma or Parvati?" He asked.

"Can't tell them apart, you?" I asked Ron.

"Nope. Just go up to the friendliest looking one and ask her if she wants to go with you without mentioning her name."

"Good idea." I was walking stiffly towards the closest Patil when she and her sister crawled out the tunnel.

"Fudge." I whispered to Ron.

"Quick!" Ron urged. "Go after her before it's too late!"

I scrambled after Padma and Parvati with Ron following behind. I saw one of them on the outskirts of a huddle of students surrounded by swirling robes. Ron pushed his way to the front but as I went to follow the Patil on the outskirts of the huddle scowled angrily at me. There was still the other one, I thought. But as I saw what everyone was looking at that dream died too.

"Who's he?" Whispered Ron. I shrugged hopelessly in reply.

"OMG."

"Oliver Phelps..."

"Have you ever heard of him..."

"Got the second highest exam score last year..."

"I swear they are complete opposites..."

"Is that Padma or Parvati?"

"You think she'll say yes?" I heard mutters dart round as I saw a brown haired boy from Ravenclaw drop down on one knee as pull a sparkling brooch out of his robes.

"Padma, I was w-wondering..."

"Yes?" She asked in earnest, clasping her hands tightly.

"If you would like to go with me to the Yule Ball?"

"... Yes!" Padma pulled the boy up and plucked the brooch from his hands. She pinned it nearly over her heart and slipped her hand into the boy's.

"Come on Ollie!" She laughed as she led him down the corridor.

I felt a tap on my shoulder and turned to see Hermione.

"We have to go into the forest tonight. We need to get ready NOW." Ron readily agreed on the promise that it would lower his death chances. But I had other things on my mind.

"Sorry guys but I need to snag a girl for that Ball." I apologised. As I rushed away I heard Ron faintly.

"He really needs to get his priorities straight." He muttered to Hermione.

oOo

 **Oliver's POV**

It wasn't an ambush - It was my last chance. Some might think that standing inconspicuously around the Gryffindor Common Room waiting for a certain Padma Patil to come out sounded like a bit of an ambush - but no. It was just exactly the sort of thing Padma would do -but I wouldn't. I had been hopelessly in love with Padma ever since first grade. I hate being in the centre of attention but since Parma ALWAYS IS, I've had a hard (impossible) time getting the guts to ask her out. But this time it was gonna be perfect. I had watched Padma for weeks now - in the most weird way possible - so I know what she adores. I even bought a little brooch that Padma had been eyeing for weeks. I knew that the twins had spent their allowance the first week they were allowed into Hogsmeade so Padma would've had no chance getting the two Galleon brooch. Seamus and Neville told me I needn't bother as Padma has had a crush on me ever since everyone heard that I had saved Luna from certain death. When word had got out about me saving Luna it had made me look like an absolute hero - but the truth was actually rather embarrassing. I had been out at Care of Magical Creatures when Luna had gotten too close to a angry Bowtruckle. It was about to gouge her eyes out when I accidentally flicked a ink pot at the creature when I was trying to enchant my quill. Hagrid had made quite a fuss and I was christened a celebrity - I had hid in the broom cupboard for the rest of the day. I really didn't like being the centre of attention. But my heart was still fluttering wildly as I made my way back to the Ravenclaw common room.

"Bowtruckles try to gorge out eyes or toes?" The eagle on the door knocker asked.

"Eyes." I muttered happily as I clambered into the room. I knew that one. I waltzed across the room with a slight swagger to my step. I, Oliver Phelps had just asked the girl of my dreams to the Yule Ball...

"Oliver, watch out!" I heard someone yell as I tripped over the pile of books that had been left on the floor and face planted into Savannah Paige. I scrambled off the the blonde girl quickly.

"Sorry," I murmured, going red. But she didn't notice. I followed her gaze before going redder. That was a puddle of Mythic Ink. I had seen it at Scribbulus Writing Implements for 10 Galleons a bottle.

"Are you okay?" I asked, shocked.

Savannah slowly got to her feet.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I JUST HAD MY ENTIRE YEAR'S SAVINGS SMEARED ALL OVER THE FLOOR!"

I took a hurried step back. This wasn't Savannah. Most of the time she was like me, quiet, withdrawn, with her nose consistently stuck in a book, or completely invisible. I had never known her to get this sarcastic before... But now that I'm thinking... she did get really pissed at Draco Malfoy last year when he and Crabbe and Goyle had been bullying a little first year. As I fled back to my dormitory, Savannah staring angrily at me all the way, I couldn't help but notice everything I didn't usually notice.

oOo

 **Savannah's POV**

"Reparo." I sobbed quietly.

"Reparo!" I muttered louder, and the this time the bottle slotted back together. But the precious ink remained in the floor. I knew some of the sixth or seventh years would know the incarnation to fix this, but they never seemed to take any notice of me, no one ever did. I huffed sullenly and picked up the empty bottle. I pushed it into my satchel and trudged dejectedly up the stairs. Mutters of 'sorry' followed me as I was bumped repeatedly on my way up. I peeked quickly into the dormitory and was relieved to find it empty. I flopped down onto my bed - and cried.

 **Big Shoutout To Zoha Ven for Oliver Phelps and to SmoulderS for Savannah Paige! Thx so much for reading!**

 **~FlyingHamburgerRider**


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

 **Harry's POV**

Marietta hadn't been my first choice. I had considered several girls from Hufflepuff, but had in the end decided against all three. Marietta had been my second choice from Ravenclaw. Padma had been my first choice from another house because she spends so much time in the Gryffindor common room with Paravti you don't really realise she's actually in Ravenclaw. But Oliver Phelps took her... so now I'm hoping that Marietta is not taken. I watched the Ravenclaw common room door swing open and a girl walked out.

"See you, Marietta!" I heard faintly.

Okay this was it. I dropped to one knee and asked, refusing to look up at her face, for fear of rejection,

"Will you come to the Yule Ball with me?"

 **Savannah's** **POV**

I had been asked to the Yule Ball.

After crying for a bit, I went downstairs. I was going to order another bottle of Mythic Ink with the money I had made from winning a Muggle writing competition. Behind me Marietta had been levying her owl out the window and shouting "See you, Marietta!" - she calls her owl Marietta Jnr. I had climbed out the door and had seen Harry Potter drop to the floor in front off me.

"Will you come to the Yule Ball with me?" He asked.

"Yes..." I gasped.

I saw Harry lift his head and frown.

"Oh ... yeah, great..." he said, before running off. Had I done something wrong?

Ron's POV

We were back in the bathrooms. It had been two years since I had last been in the abandoned bathrooms, and I hadn't missed. I also hadn't missed Moaning Myrtle. Hermione kept passing me phials of sludge and charmed lockets, as well as the occasional charmed quill. I had to label the phials as Hermione passed them to me so we wouldn't get confused as to which was which. Moaning Myrtle was getting me really bugged. So far I had misspelled thirteen different labels and completely gone off what it was supposed to be one five. Gee, thanks Myrtle.

"Amphibious plant resistant." Hermione passed me a foggy phial with a blue potion speckled with black. I picked up my quill and dipped it in the pot.

"Anti-venom Potion restraint..." Myrtle moaned on my ear.

"Oh, bug off." I groaned. With a wail, Myrtle disappeared into one of the cubicles.

"Oh now you've done it." Hermione accused me.

"What? You should be thanking me. I just got rid of Moan-" the rest of my sentence was cut off as a full blown tantrum came squeaking up from the U-turn. "Oh."

oOo

I had just fitted the last of the phials into Hermione's seventh best satchel (she has thirteen satchels - don't ask me why.) when I felt that it was time to ask.

"Err," I started.

"Yes, Ronald?" Hermione asked. I cleared my throats loudly.

"I was, err, wondering if you would like to be my date to the Yule Ball?" I watched Hermione's face go red on anger and I sensed that I should probably be running for my life.

"For you information Ronald Weasley, I have already asked out." She fumed.

"Really by who?" (I had the sense not to add - whoever it is must have something wrong with them - in fear of Hermione's wrath.

"I said yes." She ignored my question. "And if you are going to leave me until last, we'll, well," I watched her hand fumble into her pocket in search of her wand. I ran. Dropping the satchel carefully, I fled out of the bathroom and up to the Gryffindor common room. I launched my dormitory and latched the door.

"Wow, what happened dude?" Seamus Finnegan asked from behind his edition of Quidditch Quarterly.

"Girls." I rasped. He nodded, as if that explained everything.

"Me too," He groaned. "Holly Cox - you know, from Hufflepuff, - had a right good go at me when she found out I actually like Susan Bones better. But that's complete dung, I actually fancy myself more of a Gretchen Llioam person."

I nodded in agreement.

"Watcha got there?" I asked, trying to change the topic.

"Oh. This?" He asked looking down at his magazine. Wally Walpole from the Egyptian Mummies has been replaced by Danny Tidgepile. It's big 'cause everyone' is sayin' that Coach Harkinson only put him in the team cause his daughter fancies him. And everyone is saying the Cannons cheated in that match against the Torpedoes..."

"They're saying what now?" Now I was fuming. "Gimme that here magazine. Finally I was in my zone.

Well, I was. Until the warning bell sounded. My face paled and I stare red out the door.

"Hermione! Where the bloody hell are you going?" Hermione glanced at me.

"We have have to find Harry. This is our ticket out of here."

 **Ruffnut's** **POV**

I remember it all. They had me chained up to a wall. They flicked wands over and over, pointing the tip straight at me. It hurt. All over.

"Sectemsempra." I heard one of them mutter. I was drowsy, weak. I couldn't see. I screamed as I felt invisible beings claw into my skin. It grew dark. My eyes stung and burned. I felt my cracked lips touch glass.

"Drink." I did. It was stupid, but in that moment, it felt like a saviour. It felt good. I should've stopped. I shouldn't have even started. But I kept drinking, until there was nothing left to drink.

"Good." He muttered as he drew the flask away. I felt myself sunk to the ground, but when I rose up from the ground was not myself. A black mist curled around me, squeezing me tight and leaving me gasping for air. The chains fell with a clang from my wrists, but I didn't run. I didn't do anything. I was a slave within my own mind.

Tuffnut says the mist is gone, that I had fought back against it. But it is still there. A little voice at the back of my head. I may be back in control, but things like these can't last.

I was a traitor.

I am a traitor.

 **Tuffnut's** **POV**

The gentle glow from Sirius' wand illuminated the path ahead. On is other hand he held a fraying map of the woods.

"Remember these, Remus?" He waved the map at Lupin.

"The Marauder's Map 2.0. Only one was made, the forest should remain unknown." Lupin recalled.

"Aren't you glad I stopped you from burning it!"

Lupin's remained silent. That hadn't been is best moment, especially the but when Sirius had punched him. He rubbed at his cheek, as if remembering the feel of Sirius' clenched fist meeting his face.

"Are we close?" I asked. We had been walking for what had seemed like hours. And I was getting bored. Tuffnut hadn't spoken the entire trip. Which was great. I mean I guess she had just through a situation that could be considered as traumatic, but seriously, I was getting really annoyed.

"Just through here." Sirius narrated. I pushed through the clump of bushes and instead of the friendly welcome I was expecting... there was a knife, in my face.

"Geddoff him Snotlout." A voice called.

"Hiccup." I sighed. "I would've been fine. I can take Snotlout."

"You wanna bet on that?" I heard Snotlout crack his knuckles to the side off me.

"I would but ... we have to eat."

* * *

 **Hi everyone! Next chapter will be located in the Forbidden Forest with our favourite threesome and some Dragon Academy intervention! I am planning the Yule Ball to be Chap 16 but at the moment I am not sure. Big shoutout again to Zoha Ven and SmoulderS for Oliver and Savannah! If any of you have characters I should be able to fit them in! Thank you for being so patient with me and my slow chapter writing! Please review because I cannot tell you how much it means to me to have all of you guys review!**

 **~FlyingHamburgerRider**


	16. Chapter 15

**Hi everyone! It has been a year since the start of this story and I cannot even begin to describe how supportive everyone has been. When I first started this story (my first ever) I could not have ever thought it would get to this point! Chapter 16 should be up soon and I plan to have it finished at Chapter 20. Afterwards I am considering a sequel based in Berk but we will see how things go! So let's get on with the chapter!**

 **Chapter 15**

 **Hermione's POV**

Ron! The nerve of him! But matters aside, I needed to find Harry. I weaved through the throngs of students making their way to the exits, dragging Ron along by his cuff. We made a beeline for the Gryffindor common room, hoping Harry would be there.

"Hermione! Ron!" I heard someone shout over the noise, turning I saw a tuft of black hair jut out from the tops of the anxious students.

"Harry! Over here!" I yelled, gesturing for him to join me and Ron. The red head stood several paces away, glancing sheepishly at the floor. I hadn't forgiven him, but there were more important things at hand. I latched onto the two boys and dragged them along, struggling against the tide of kids.

"Hermione!" Harry shouted. "The warning bell! We need to evacuate!" I rolled my eyes, but didn't answer. Too many people could overhear. I stopped at a window and unlatched it. I stepped out onto the ledge and jumped off. As I plummeted, I waved my wand lazily as I created a cushion of air beneath my feet, slowing me to a stop before hopping onto the ground. NEWT Year stuff, I know. But hey?! What's a bit of extra work? Ron jumped first out of the two. Maybe he wanted to regain my favour or he was confident in me? Or maybe Harry just pushed him, whatever the reason, I didn't know. I slowed him to a stop and repeated with Harry. The courtyard where we had landed was illuminated in a pale light, bathing the somber statues in a ghostly aura. Several corridors led away from the courtyard, all leading to various locations within Hogwarts. Ron started towards a tunnel on the far left which would bring us down to the front oval, but I held him back. That was one of the emergency rendezvous locations. No. We couldn't be spotted by anyone. Not when we were so close. Harry's Invisibility Cloak wouldn't help either if they went down to the oval. Too any people - we were sure to be jostled around within the crowd. There had to be another way. I tapped at the cobbles benath my feet, thinking quietly. The stone rang shrilly across the ground. I tapped it furiously, an idea forming.

"Hermione! What are you doing?" Ron stared wide eyed, as if I'd gone mad. I tried to recall Hogwarts: A History, Chapter 67: Tunnels. When the castle had first been constructed many threats had threatened to harm the school, leaving the founders with a need for escape routes. The book had covered a reasonable amount, just enough for me to know how to access the tunnels. I just hoped I could.

'...the current headmaster/mistress of the school must have confidence and trust in the one whom is trying to access the tunnels, if the headmaster/mistress places no such trust with the student, traps and alarms will be set off if they attempt to enter the tunnels..." The book had stated.

I leaned down and pressed my hand against the stone.

"Always been a good student, right Dumbledore?" I heard movement beneath the stone and froze. It could mean two things. I crossed my fingers silently, begging for the tunnel. Slowly the stone sunk away, drawing more stones down with it. The floor opened up into a dark chasm, I stumbled back to avoid falling in and grabbed the boys.

"On three." I rasped.

They both looked at me like I was stupid, bonkers or crazy. Maybe all three.

"Oh, no Hermione." Ron struggled against me, trying to go anywhere but into the hole.

"Three." Harry muttered something along the lines of 'You know, I like living, I really do.' And a few curse words I probably shouldn't repeat.

"Two." I drew them closer to the chasm and peered down. I could make out a smudge of light quite away down.

"One."

I jumped quickly, before I could change my mind. Harry and Ron just stood there clueless for a millisecond, before being drawn over the edge as I tugged on the cuffs I had latched onto.

I heard colourful language spew from from the boys' mouths as I we plummeted down.

oOo

I slowed us to a stop as best as I could, but it was powerful magic and my energy was draining. The air thinned a few metres from the bottom and we crumpled to the floor. I heard Harry scream out as he touched down. I rushed over to him quickly.

"Lumnos." The tip off my wand lit up as I held it up to Harry. His face was contorted in pain, his ankle twisted out sideways.

"Can you heal it?" Ron peered in at me.

"I could." Ron smiled. "But my energy is waning. We would have to abandon tonight."

"No." Ron looked back at Harry and he nodded in agreement from the floor. "This means too much. I'll stay with Harry. You go."

I looked at Harry. As much as I wanted to heal him, I knew I had to find the final ingredients. I nodded at Ron.

"I'll see you back at the dorms."

Harry choked a smile.

"We'll see you then." I smiled back at home and set off down the singular tunnel leading off the chasm.

oOo

"Lumnos Maxima!" The light brightened and I rushed ahead. The tunnel widened out into a dead end. I pressed my hand to the rock and pushed against it. The rock slitted in the middle and I slipped through the crack. That part had also been in the book. The forest where I had emerged was pitch black, lit only by the glow of my wand. I heard the calls of foreign animals and my body tensed. I saw a root and checked it against my list. I ticked of Ambrosia root and stuck some of the leaves into a phial. I scurried around the area and ticked the ingredients off steadily until there was only one more. I held my wand up to the trees. I took a tentative step forward. I just needed the Moonbeam Fern now. My wand was dimming so I needed to hurry. I rushed into the under brush and groped around for the familiar velvety texture of the fern. I found it hidden among a pile of wood and quickly picked a sample. I was heading back to the tunnel when I heard something hiss behind me.


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

 **Ron's POV**

Hermione still wasn't back yet. After she had left us at the bottom of the tunnel yesterday me and Harry had managed to get ourselves up and out of the hole with a few charms. We had then made our way to the oval where the rest of the school was gathered, Dumbledore calmly assuring the group that the infestation of Snargles was under control. Snargles... how did Hermione come up with these schemes? I was dressed in my patched dress robes, looking like a beggar next to a finely dressed Harry. I had been surprised when Harry had come to the Yule Ball, straight out of the infirmary, hand in hand with Savannah Paige. It's not like I have anything against her, it's just, why? Savannah is like that invisible girl the corner of the room who either had her head buried in a book or an assignment. In a way, she is like Hermione. She knows very answer, but she is way too shy to put her hand up. The only time I've seen a real reaction from her is when she spotted Draco bullying her sister, Mijoria. It was really brace of her and completely unexpected. But the next I saw her she was still, well, Savannah. The Yule Ball was about to commence, and I still had no one. But apparently, Krum didn't have a date either. I couldn't see his either. He was dressed in a navy blue cloak trimmed with a dark red collar. He stood by the doors of te great hall, almost as if he was waiting for someone. But, so were we.

"We need to tell McGonagall." Harry whispered in my ear. He looked very uncomfortable next to Savannah, hid fingers tugging nervously at his sleeve.

"She'll be here. She had to be." Hermione was still not back from the forest. It has almost been a full 24 hours. We heard the faint sound of trumpet fanfare echo from inside the hall. I nodded to Harry. Harry slipped is hand away from Savannah's and made way towards the grumpy looking professor. But stopped just at the foot of the stairs.

"Wow." He looked up at a girl stepping down the steps towards the halls. Her dress bulged out in voluminous pink folds, clenched in at the waist with a fat bow. Her hair was done up in a pile at the top of her head.

"Hermione!" I waved. Maybe I could have a date after all. Hermione waved back and made her way down the steps towards me. No, not me, Krum. They linked arms and stepped towards the doors just as they were thrown open. They waltzed in first and where followed by Harry and Savannah. I ducked into a side entrance and was swallowed by the crowd. Hermione and Krum? That poster of Krum was going down as soon as I got home, mark my words. But I wasn't alone for long. Harry and the other competitors in the Tournament led the first dance but Harry sound joined me at my table, leaving Savannah looking longingly at Harry's retreating figure.

"Harry - Why is transfiguration with larger animals harder than with smaller?" I asked Harry. I had bought my homework down with me after realising I would be alone at the ball. "Professor Magris expects to to be handed in tomorrow. 2.5 feet..."

Harry sighed and shrugged sullenly. "I have to finish that too. But speaking of Magris, I wonder what happened to McGonagall?"

"Oh man. I dunno." Come to think of it, when had I actually seen McGonagall last? "The last time we saw here she had just returned from the conference... and had told us that Dumbledore was still at the conference ... Harry..."

"We need to get Hermione - now." Harry pulled me up from the table and pulled me down to the dance floor.

"Hey Harry." I heard Savannah call out from where she was sitting with a book, disturbingly close to our table. Harry waved quickly but continued to surge through the crowd. I watched as Harry yanked Hermione away from Krum, savouring the distraught look on his face.

"What is it?" She hissed as we ran to the exits.

"McGonagall - she hasn't been here since we talked to her after the conference." Harry explained. Hermione's jaw dropped as she took in what we were trying to say.

"I haven't started the potion and won't be able to start it soon either - Myrtle's bathroom has been closed for renovations- but I think I know where McGonagall is." Hermione thought quickly.

"Where?" I could hardly breathe.

"Where can only one person go back and forth freely? Dumbledore's office! They must've got the password out of McGonagall."

"Well? Let's go then!" Harry called from where he was already halfway down the hallway.

 **Hermione's POV**

"Dumbledore's office." I breathed. The eagle stared menacingly down at us, moonshine from the window bathing it in a fluorescent glow.

"Anyone have ideas for a password?" Ron pleaded. Harry started to mumble through Dumbledore's previous passwords.

"Harry! No! Stop!" I yelled. He stared at me sideways, but stopped talking. I gestured to the eagle. The eagle had six silver hooks imbedded in its claws. Five where raised in a fighting stance, leaving the other one cocked slightly downwards.

"One more chance or we are dead." I watched Ron start down the corridor in the opposite direction.

"I'm out." He called.

Harry stepped to follow him.

"Stop Harry." I licked my lips slowly as the words appeared letter by letter in my mind. "The impersonators must've changed the password when they first gained access to the office. Too many people knew the passcode. They must've had to change it to something no one in Hogwarts would ever think of - or ever say."

I turned to the door. "Avada Kedavra." I shut my eyes tightly as I waited to see if it worked. I felt someone latch on to my shoulders and shake me hard. It was Harry.

"You did it Hermione! You did it!" And I had. The eagle had twisted upwards and revealed a climbing staircase upwards. I jogged up quickly, Harry trailing behind.

"Hermione, you do realise that the impersonators could very possibly be up there?"

"Yule Ball. I did a scan as we left." I could hear Harry whistle softly behind me. He was probably rolling his eyes too.

I sighed and pushed open the door. Harry made to stop me, afraid of what could be lurking behind it. I slipped through the door and was relieved to see there wasn't anyone lying in wait.

"Ok." Harry had slipped in after me. "Where now." I glanced around quickly and noticed a notch in the wall.

"There. Look. It's a scratch. As if - they had been a fight."

I glanced across from the scratch and noticed a mural protruding slightly from the wall. Covered in a design of dryads and saytrs dancing around in a repeating circle, the forest around them painstakingly etched in. In previous years at the school I had been in Dumbledore's office and had noticed the mural before, firmly stuck in the wall. But now it was protruding out by at least the length of my pinkie. I ran my hand over the mural's surface and realised that it was raised diagonally. Only one side was jutting out as if - as if it were a door. I curled my fingers around my wand and drew it out whispering Alohomora quietly. I heard something click from within the stone. Click. Click. Click. I heard multiple gears were grinding together in the wall, bolts sliding across and pins being pushed into place. Click. The door flew open and I rushed to my teacher's side. She was withered and frail, her wrists raw from were she was bound. I flicked the gag into my wand and did the same to her chains. She smiled slightly at me, her face contorting in pain. I helped her up and out of the nook in the wall, her long cloak long since been shredded down to rags. Harry rushed to my side and together we supported her across the room. We learnt her down on the window sill to let her rest but heard a sound from the back exit to the office. Few knew about the passage but Harry's map had revealed a lot of things that had previously been unknown to us. We tensed. It couldn't be good. Knowing our luck it would be bad.

"Forbidden Forest. Midnight tonight." I pressed a galleon into his hand. "When it burns look at it and it will tell you where to go. Find Ron." Harry looked at me, startled as he realised what I was doing.

"Accio Firebolt" Harry sped to the door and opened it just as the broomstick thundered through. "For you." He nodded to me and McHobahall before heading back down the stairs. I nodded back but turned quickly. The footsteps were getting louder. I had only seconds. I heaved McGonagall onto the back off the stick and blasted the window wide open. The back our was flung open as Dumbledore rushed in, waving a bottle of Fire Whisky about.

"Get back here!" He roared, getting a good look at my face. I blanched slightly and faltered. I watched as he ran towards me, his shadow looming. I jumped quickly on the broom and wobbled forward out the window, looking cautiously behind at Dumbledore waving his bottle at me through the window. I averted my gaze back to straight ahead and continued on.


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Hermione's POV

The firelight flickered wistfully in the hearth, casting a faint glow across the clearing. Tough bark poked into my skin and I wriggled for comfort on the log. The blonde girl next to me was staring into the flames, chewing absentmindedly on her braid. Hiccup had introduced her as Astrid. McGonagall was lying down at our feet in the dirt. She looked almost angry as she snored. Part of me felt scared that she would wake up and give us a detention. The pot crackled and I leapt up to tend it. I stirred the Revealer Potion tenderly and tried to remember the stirring patterns. All that can to mind was the author's helpful reminders of what _else_ you could make if you could these instructions wrong. I gulped. Stupid complicated instructions. I knew I should have memorised them when I had had the chance. But it was too late for that now.

McGonagall and I had arrived at the Dragon Riders camp in the middle of the night. McGonagall had collapsed off the broomstick and onto the ground in a heap. I had hopped off after the professor, rubbing my cheeks where the broomstick had dug in. I had glanced across the camp at Lupin and smiled.

"Lupin!" I had called out. "McGonagall needs help." Lupin had rushed over but as he did I had noticed a black head poke from behind the tent.

"The Dragon Riders? They're here? You saved them?" Lupin nodded, still focused on the groaning Professor. I had gotten up slowly and peered and the dragon.

"A Black Death. Of course. How had I not noticed it before?!" I murmured. "The most dangerous breed of dragons." So little was known about them... I reached out to touch it, the dragon raising its nose to my palm. The scales had felt cool under my palm, air from its nostrils curling up my arm. Lupin had hauled McGonagall up to her feet and had nearly gotten her to the log when she had collapsed. For the second time that day. Lupin had looked exhausted, McGonagall must've been pretty heavy underneath all those folds of cloth. He clearly couldn't be bothered lifting her and neither could I, so she stayed on the floor. I had talked Lupin through the plan with the Revealer Potion and he had helped me set it up in a pot. Then he had said he had to go, but someone else would come out. He had first returned with Hiccup. He had only stayed a little while, even in the flickering firelight you could see the bags under his eyes. Then it was Astrid.

She sat next to me. She had stopped chewing on her braid now but I was still in no mood to talk to her. I mean I had said hi, but she hadn't responded. I had said hi a few minutes later. She hadn't responded. I would've tried a third time but as soon as I opened my mouth to speak her hand went straight to the shaft of her axe. Stupid muggles. So now I was thinking about what I would've written, had I had to do my Potions essay. I mean Worthwood and Hucksoj Berry both could be made into sleeping draughts. I knew that at least. But which would be more powerful? I really didn't know. The Worthwood could... I saw something move between the trees.

"Astrid." I whispered through clenched teeth.

"I know." She whispered back. Her axe was drawn and her left hand was at her mouth, preparing to summon her dragon, most likely. I reached inside my cloak for my wand. My fingers clamped around the familiar wood as I drew it out. I gasped out loud. Astrid glared at me and pointed at the trees. We were being surrounded. And I had only half a wand.

Harry's POV

"My god Ron, I wish Hermione was here!" I groaned. Ron was lying on the bed next to me, staring up at the dormitory ceiling. If had only been last night that Hermione had escaped with McGonagall, flying awkwardly off on my Firebolt. After I had run back downstairs I had met Ron standing at the bottom of the staircase, whitefaces.

"The Firebolt? Harry, what happened?" Ron had looked so desperate as he had stood there, wringing his fingers together as he waited in the hope that Hermione would be coming down next. Harry had hated to tell him the truth, watching his friend's face go slack as he realised Hermionewasnt coming. Harry had pulled Ron back to the dormitories in a stunned sort of silence. Harry too realising the severity of the situation. With the Task tomorrow and Hermione gone he may as well have the funeral now.

"It's my fault Harry." Ron had whispered. "I shouldve been there."

"I mean, I know why she had to go." I continued.

"Mmm." Ron agreed.

"But it's the day of the Second Test! And all I've got to work with is the knowledge that I'll need to hold my breath!"

"Mmm."

I punched Ron lightly on the arm.

"Not helping!" I chuckled. My voice grew serious again, "But what am I going to do?"

"I dunno man." Ron said as we heard a knock the door. Ron rolled off the bed to answer the door, taking the blanket with him.

"Hey Neville." The boy stumbled in, red faced with a green sort of kelp clutched tightly in his grip.

"Grindylow." He gasped, pressing the kelp into my hands.

"Thanks?" I wasn't sure how you were meant to respond. What was the proper etiquette for when people gave you kelp? I didn't know.

"The Task. It'll help you." Neville explained. I sat up.

"Really?" I raised my eyebrows and peered down at the kelp. It didn't look like much. It really just looked like - kelp.

"Trust me!" Neville pleaded.

"I dunno Neville..."

Ron came back into the room.

"You'd better hope it works Harry. They're summoning everyone down to the lake." He said. I looked down at the kelp in my hand as I walked to the Common Room. This could go really, very badly, wrong.

oOo

I gasped as my head rose above the surface, coughing the water out of my lungs. Ron bobbed next to me, and behind him was the little girl. They were both spluttering now, free from whatever spell had kept them suspended in the water. As I pulled them along behind me I realised with a sinking feeling that Cedric and Krum were already there, Krum looking almost disappointed with the black haired girl shivering under a blanket beside him. Fleur was there as well, but she hadn't completed her task. The one she had been meant to rescue was next to me. Neville was leaning over the side of the ladder, beaming with the knowledge that his madcap plan hadn't failed. He went to pull me up but I let Ron go first, feeling very relieved when Seamus came over to stop Neville from toppling in. I came up after the blonde girl, greeted by a warm embrace of blankets as I reached the top. My gills had faded back but my feet were still webbed, making me look stupid as I fell flat on my face. I was gathered up in a blanket by Fleur who had come up behind me.

"Thank you, thankyou!" Kissing my cheek she hugged me tight. Then she moved onto Ron who was next to me. "You save my sister!" I nodded.

"Yeah, I guess." Fleur's reply was cut off as Dumbledore cleared his throat to announce the points. Suddenly he stopped, whispering a few words to Moody before leaving. As Dumbledore raced past me I couldn't help but notice his beard had gone almost - blonde? Then I remembered. The Polyjuice Potion. I just had to hope that wherever Hermione was she was cooking up that Revealer potion.

"First place - Cedric Diggory!" Moody shouted.

"Second place - Harry Potter!" Uproar came from the Durmstrangs crowd, but it was quickly silenced by a glare from Moody.

"Third place - Viktor Krum and in last was Fleur Delacour!" I didn't even bother asking why he had came second, I was too overcome with fatigue. I was barreled into a boat, surrounded by masses of eager kids. I tried my best to answer their questions but in truth i just wanted to be alone. Alone and asleep.

* * *

 **I would just like to thank everyone for over 60 reviews! You are all so awesome and supportive! Please review because it always makes me smile and helps me write faster!**

 **~FlyingHamburgerRider**


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18  
Tuffnut's POV**  
Aside from Astrid and the brunette by the campfire, the camp was mostly deserted. Everyone was asleep, lying in the tents Lupin and Sirius had magicked up. But with the lack of space to hide in the camp, and the fact that Ruffnut shared a tent with me, I was at a compete loss to explain where she was. I mean, people can't just disappear, right? I looked everywhere for her. As in, the sleeping bags, the other's tents, even behind the bush - urgh.  
I slouched around the clearing, looking for even the littlest trace of my twin. I went right around the border of the clearing, looking for a broken twig, a scrap of clothing, you know. Detective stuff.  
When I did finally find my clue, I nearly walked right over it.  
It was a footprint, very faint against the packed soil - but there. It looked almost exactly the same as the ones I had made. But Ruffnut's was etched deeper into the ground. Heavy steps, I thought. Her footprints went out and into the woods, leaving me with a clear path to follow. I ran quickly back to my tent and grabbed a torch. It was probably not a very good idea to be waving a torch around amongst all the foliage, but it was what I had.  
I followed her footsteps deep into the forest, nearly jumping out of my skin each time something moved in the shadows.  
"So they think you are free of our control, do they?" The man was seated upon a grey stone chair, a slight oddity amongst the forest. Black sideburns curled around his cheeks, over pale, sallow skin. Two slitted irises stared down at my kneeling sister, his mouth curled in a sick grin of contempt. He was kind of like Viggo 2.0.

"Yes. They are convinced Sirius' spell helped me." Ruffnut's voice was a dull monotone, all dry and stale. The words sounded choked, like she was coughing them up one by one. I thought back to the last time I had heard her speak when she had been possessed. Then it had been Moody's voice erupting from her lips, now it was her own, but a strangled, tortured version.

"Good. Anything to report?" The man leaned forward in his chair, leering down at Ruffnut. Her face was tensed and her eyes were clenched tight as she rocked slowly back and forth on her knees.

"No. No. No." Her voice was small, tiny, barely more than a squeak - but it was hers.

"But I think you do." He spoke softly, ever so softly, but the sound still resonated across the clearing,

"I-I-" Ruffnut's head hung low. "Two people came to the camp. I heard -" She drew in a slow breath. "They are in the process of making a potion. The Revealer Potion."

"This complicates things." The man stroked at his chin. He looked up suddenly, as if just then only realising Ruffnut still leaned before her.

"Begone of you." He waved Ruffnut away. My sister stood shakily up, lurching drunkenly forward.

She stumbled into the forest, heading back to the camp. I trailed softly after her with ninja stealth skills. I waited until we were far enough away from the clearing to to be out of the man's earshot, scurrying forward and lagging just a few steps behind her.

I waited until we were out of the man's earshot to dart forward and jump her.

"TUFFUT WHAT THE HECK?" Ruffnut shouted loudly, letting me know that she was currently in possession of her brain. I knew that my sister was in control of herself, but I knew better than anyone that it could change in an instant.

"Sorry!" I gritted my teeth and bought my fist down onto her head, wincing as I watched her crumple to the floor. I knelt down beside her and tugged at her arm, once again realising just how heavy she was.

Great. I was going to have an awesome time dragging _this_ back to camp.

oOo

I was about 100 metres away from camp when I saw them.

One was a man, standing at about 6 feet. He had grey hair curling down to just about his shoulder - I rubbed at my eyes and looked again. No, he had short straw blond hair jutting up from a pale scalp.

And his companion - It was the man from the clearing. I slapped my hands back over my mouth, muffling my gasp of surprise. For in front of the two men was a line of armoured gronckles, spewing a relentless flow of lava towards our encampment.

Thinking fast I rolled Ruffnut behind a bush, sliding her up against all the brambles. I folded up her legs and tucked them out of sight as well, hoping like hell that the man and his companion wouldn't turn to see me stuffing my female counterpart into a bush.

"I'll be back," I promised her. Then I stood up, scurrying round to the other side of the line of gronckles, trying to find an entrance into the camp. I had made it all the way back to Ruffnut, realising that the gronckles were wedged up too tight for me to slip in. From inside the clearing I could hear the sound of shouting and glimpse the occasional tip of a flame spurting upwards.

Another flame shot up, dancing dangerously close to a thick branch dangling precariously over the clearing. _The branch_.

The lightbulb flew on in my head. I rose up from the bush, sprinting round the side of the gronckles. My boots crunched loudly against the thick foliage now that I was being more careless with my approach. Behind me I heard the man from the clearing shout out and felt a stinging sensation spark up my legs, the man's curse missing me by mere inches. I ran faster, bracing myself for a second curse to come flying at me. But it didn't come.

"He's just one." The second man's voice rang out behind me. I probably should've been relieved. _YAY! I WASN'T GOING TO DIE!_ But his words did rather the opposite. As evil as he was, he was right. I was just one. An extremely awesome one. But still just one. I couldn't even offer any fire power either, I was unable to handle Barf and Belch alone.

I tried to vanish the thoughts from my mind, but it kept coming back, almost like an annoying sister. I stopped before the tree's trunk, ready to enact phase 1 of my plan. I braced my hands against either side of the trunk pulling myself up, scraping my knees against the bark as I shimmed upwards. I wedged myself in the tree's fork, finding my balance before dropping down onto my knees to move across the branch. My face burned to about 100 degrees, fully exposed to the overpowering heat below.

Underneath me I watched worriedly as my fellow Dragon Riders directed their dragon's fire at the wall of grockles. But everyone time one of the dragons was knocked down by a barrage of firepower or sparks from Sirius and Lupin's wands, another one moved in to take its place, appearing seemingly from nowhere. The young witch who had arrived earlier cowered against the side of my tent, shielding her much older friend with half a stick. I heard BArf and Belch roar loudly as they spotted me in the treetops.

"Belch!" I shouted. "Catch!" I let myself fall from the branch, placing my life in the hands (un, teeth?) of half a dragon. Belch caught me easily, lowering me down to the ground.

"Tuff! Where have you been?" Astrid shouted, taking out several gronckles with an angry blast of fire. "Where's Ruff?"

"Um…"

"We'll continue this conversation later." Astrid glared at me, but her gaze diverted off me as we heard dual screams come from the other end of the clearing. I twisted round, gasping as I saw the paralysed figures of Fishlegs and Lupin on the ground, cowering beneath the leering shadow of a titan monstrous nightmare.

"Tuff!" Astrid directed me towards them, unable to do anything herself as she was surrounded by too many gronckles unleashing pools of lava into a rapidly filling trench (probably some magic).

I ran towards Lupin and Fishlegs, propelling my legs faster and faster as I saw the Nightmare start to build up a flame in his throat. I threw myself forward in a desperate attempt to reach them. What I was going to do once I got there? I had no idea. I found myself groping for something to hit the Nightmare, scrambling over Fishlegs' belly in an awkward crawl. My fingers curled around a thin stick, half buried in the dirt. It was probably just a twig, but I could already feel the heat of the Nightmare's flame building in its throat. I twisted round on my butt and pointed the twig towards the dragon. I had been going to hurl it forward, but some part of me knew that just throwing it wasn't going to work. Pointing it at the dragon? Heck, that probably had even less chance of working, but it felt _right_.

I closed my eyes. I felt something pull at my gut, drawing some invisible force right out of me, propelling it up my arm. I felt myself being hurled backwards, dimly aware of my surroundings. I felt an eerie calm cocoon me. I could no longer hear the gronckles or the Nightmare. I could hear no more screams. No more calls of desperation. Was I dead? Probably. But if this was Valhalla - why was Astrid there?

"Explain." She scowled. Gee, what had happened to paradise?

She looked about ready to kill me. I swear she was going to do it, but then she just bent down and hugged me, shoving my nose into her smouldering clothes. Then she pushed me back down.

"But seriously, explain."

"Oh, I don't think he can." I looked round to see Lupin padding softly around the clearing's border. I took a double take as I realised that the gronckles were gone. So was the Nightmare. And the two men as well.

"Ok, then you can explain." Astrid rounded on Lupin.

"That was magic. Serious magic."

"Magic?" The brown haired girl was coming over now too. "But they are vikings. How is that even possible?"

"I'm guessing that something strange happened at their birth."

"Like twins?" Astrid said.

"Twins, yes. But… Was it a full moon?"

All eyes turned to me.

"Um, yeah. Think so." I felt the other's gazes bear down on me.

"Well, if your powers have just started showing - where is your sister?" Lupin peered closer, as if I might be hiding a 6 foot viking in my trousers.

"Behind the bush." Snotlout followed by finger over to the bush, returning seconds later with Ruffnut clutched in his arms.

"Hot!" He howled. "Hot! Hot! Hot!" Snotlout shoved her to the ground in front of Lupin, backing quickly away from my red faced twin.

"What's happening?" The brown haired girl looked frantic, completely out of her depth.

"She's burning up." Lupin didn't ask why my sister had been behind a bush, and I silently thanked him for it. I didn't need more awkward questions. "She's still being controlled. Using magic isn't part of her instructions. Either we release her from their control or-"

"Or?" Hiccup asked.

"She releases it herself."

"But that's good, isn't it?" said Snotlout.

"No." Fishlegs whispered. "No, it isn't."

"But how do we release her from the potion's control, Remus?" Sirius asked. "I've already tried the spell, and that clearly didn't work."

"Wait!" The brown haired girl thought for a moment. "Sirius, if it was a potion - wouldn't the answer be a potion?"

"Of course!" Lupin exclaimed. "I seem to remember learning about this before!"

"I've got heaps of herbs left over from the Revealer Potion!" The brown haired girl raced towards the campfire where her potion still swung over a dying fire.

"We'd better hurry. She's got 10 minutes at most." Lupin hurried after the girl.

"Well c'mon guys! Let's get Ruffnut into a tent!" Astrid directed.

"Don't worry Ruffnut." I whispered. "You'll be fine. I promise."


End file.
